


One Call Away

by evetessmacher



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Crystals, Dorks in Love, Emotional Roller Coaster, F/M, Family Feels, Feels, Friendship/Love, KaraMel, Legion of SuperHeroes - Freeform, Light Angst, Long-Distance Relationship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Secret Relationship, Unresolved Emotional Tension, holograms, monwinn BROTP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:01:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21682645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evetessmacher/pseuds/evetessmacher
Summary: Alura wants to make sure that her daughter Kara doesn't endure the same pain and loneliness of the year before, she decides to take the matter in her own hands, even if she knows that love stories aren't that simple.
Relationships: Kara Danvers & Mon-El, Kara Danvers/Mon-El
Comments: 70
Kudos: 197





	1. Prologue

“Brainy, before we leave, I need to ask you a favour: I’m gonna give Kara my Legion ring, you know, for emergencies,  I’m obviously going to use the back up one from now on.

Can you please connect my ring- well, Kara’s ring- to mine only? So I’m the only one seeing her signals?”

“Let me take it.”

“Okay.”

He fidgeted with it for a few seconds. “Done.”

“Done?”

“Yes. Do you have any more questions?”

“Only one.. can you keep her safe?”

“Of course,” Brainy said understandingly.

“Thank you.” 

Mon-El nodded, before heading to the balcony to say his goodbyes:  a lot of words got trapped in his lungs, but it was too late now, he was walking away.

* * *

“Mon-El?” Alura touched his shoulder, she was hesitant but still cheerful.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Can we talk privately for a second?”

They walked towards a corner of the DEO, which was incredibly messy and crowded that night.

“Kara feels lonely most of the time, she won’t admit it, but I can see it. And it pains me to leave her again.”

“Yeah, I feel the same way.”

“And after those priestesses stole J’onn J’onnz’s spaceship, she’s scared that someone is going to steal the crystal we’re going to use to communicate, she gave me three of them she took from the Fortress of Solitude.”

“I don’t mean to sound rude but, what does this have to do with me?”

“I might’ve met you just a few days ago, but I can see the good man that you are. You have a beautiful heart and you love my daughter, most importantly, you make her happy.  That’s why I’m giving you one of the crystals because I want you to keep in touch.  My daughter told me that you’ve had a lot of issues that complicated your relationship, issues you had no control on and I want to try to make it easier for you, although we both know that every love story has to go through some hardships before finding its happy ending. Call her in a few days, but please don’t tell the rest of the Legion about this, they might get worried about you revealing something about the century you’re in.. Promise me you will make her feel less alone.”

Mon-El was absolutely speechless, no one had ever had so much faith in him in such a short time, not even Kara, he could just be grateful that Alura rooted for him and Kara to be together, eventually.

“I promise.” He swore solemnly.

She handed him the crystal and patted his back, “Good luck on your mission, I’m sure your team is ready to fight whatever threat will come your way.”

“Well, none of this would’ve happened if your daughter hadn’t believed in me.” 

Alura smiled with pride, with tears in her eyes: Kara had grown into the most wonderful woman, she exceeded her own expectations. 

Mon-El thought about the glyph both Zor-El women wore on their chests, _“It’s not an S, it means hope.”_ Kara’s voice echoed in his memories. 

“Hope” perhaps he had some now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I hope this prologue picked up your interest, first chapter is coming tomorrow!! Also heads up, this story is mainly focused on Kara and I like to compare it to a "one camera show" because it doesn't go out of her loft much and it's mostly introspective. Also, don't expect much Legion shenanigans since I'm no comic book expert and writing action scenes is reallyyyyyy hard for me. What I'm saying is, this story will not be perfect but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless.❤️


	2. Less Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter will have a song and all of them will be in this playlist (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6oUcMfa5tsfD75heI4FLl1?si=jL-woR2XStqiKvFXxXPz9A)
> 
> This chapter's song is Two by Sleeping at Last, you can either listen to it while reading or at the end. I hope you enjoy this first chapter!💕

It seemed like she was back one year earlier: her mom had left for Argo City and Mon-El for the 31st century.. again, but she knew better now, they were safe, they were alright.

That didn’t help her feel less sad though, she knew she had Alex, J’onn, Lena, even Brainy with her, but there was so much she still wanted to do, with her mother and Mon-El... she knew she was going to see Alura again, they were going to take back the time they had lost, but Mon-El? 

What if there was no next time?

Kara couldn’t help but damn herself for not being able to say more while they said goodbye, but she felt frozen, stuck, heartbroken again. 

_J_ _ust one more minute_ might’ve changed things maybe it would’ve hurt more, but now she’ll never know.

_“As long as he’s safe,”_ Kara whispered to herself whilst having breakfast, as she looked outside the window: apparently, it was going to be a cloudy day.

* * *

It had been five days since everyone left, the DEO felt back to normal again, Kara didn’t: that feeling of inexplicable loneliness crept into the back of her head all the time, but it was the weekend, it was time for a game night, her friends would distract her and she would get to feel better again.

Gamenight passed and nothing had changed, her friends didn’t do anything wrong but at certain moments, Kara felt suddenly aware of what was happening, the fact that Winn wasn’t there for it for the first time in years.. she felt her heartbreak again.

_Things are never going to be the same._

The next day, Kara flew to the DEO even on a Saturday night: she needed to talk to her mom specifically because if she talked to Alex, she would've gone full Protective Big Sister and stayed with Kara 24/7 until she felt better and that was something she definitely didn’t want.

Kara walked in the room where she kept her hologram crystal, but before she could activate it herself, a figure appeared in front of her: someone she didn’t expect to see at all.

“Mon-El? Is that you?”

“I was about to say ‘In the flesh’ but I guess it’s not appropriate in this case. But yes, it’s me.”

Kara was too suspicious, that couldn’t be real. “Prove it.”

“You get a crinkle between your brows when you lie and you enjoy pineapple and ham on Pizza, your favourite movie is the Wizard of Oz, your favourite books are from the Harry Potter saga and you think Funny Face is the most romantic movie ever and I agree. Should I go on?”

“Wow… you- how do you have- how are you talking to me right now?”

“Your mom-“

“My mom?”  Kara was incredulous, “What did she do?”

“Rao, Kara you’re not gonna let me finish any of my sentences tonight, are you? She gave me one of those three crystals before she left.”

“Why?”

“For the same reason you were about to call her on a Saturday, or Sunday night, my 2018 calendar is a bit off right now.”

“Saturday... I can’t believe she did this!”

“Why? Are you upset to see me?” 

Mon-El suddenly felt like he had done everything wrong.

“No! No, no, absolutely not I just wasn’t expecting her to give a crystal to you since you've barely interacted, I guess she liked you that much.” 

Kara giggled like she’d just told a joke to herself. “What did she tell you?”

“Keeping it short, she feared that you would feel lonely, and she thought I’d be a good company, even if I’m not there physically.”

“Mother really knows best.”

Mon-El smiled seeing Kara smile again, “So tell me, how was your day? Or days?”

“Boring, empty, no big threats on the horizon, no fun at all. I mean, Alex, Lena, James and Brainy came over for game night, but we spent most of it teaching Brainy the games and how to NOT cheat, since he’s a twelfth level intellect-“

“Yeah, a few years ago I tried to do something vaguely resembling a game night here and he just didn’t get it, it ruined the mood so I gave up.”  
  
They laughed together, it was like one of those late-night calls with her crush she had read about so many times in romantic novels: their conversation flowed naturally as if nothing had happened between them.

“What about you? How was your day?”

“I.. I really can’t say much about it, you know, since I’m in the future, but it was kinda bad. I felt lonely as well today, even if Winn’s presence helps a lot.”

“How is my best friend doing in a new millennium?”

“A lot better than I was when I first got here.”

“Can I see him?”

“I’m not with the Legion right now and your mother told me to not tell anyone about us being in contact because they might worry about altering the timeline and we wouldn’t be able to talk anymore. Is that okay with you? To not talk to Winn?”

Kara frowned but understood where the problem was coming from. “It’s fine, as long as you don’t let him be sad and you let me know he’s okay.”

“Cross my heart, I will never let our best friend be sad.”

“I’m more of a pinky promise person.”

“We can do that as well if you want to be fully sure of my honesty.”

Kara got closer to his hologram and raised her pinky and he did the same, the blue-ish shade touched her skin and sealed the deal.

“So, nobody knows we’re talking right now?”

“Nope.”

“Not even Imra?”

“Especially Imra. Wait.. that sounded wrong.”

They felt uncomfortable all of a sudden, but Mon-El broke the silence, “Listen, Imra and I aren’t together anymore and she isn’t a jealous person, anyway.”

He scratched his chin nervously.

“I wasn’t expecting that.”

“What?”

“For you and Imra to break up.”

“We both acknowledged that our relationship wasn’t right ever since the beginning, the 21 st century just made it clearer, also I’m pretty sure she eyed someone else.”

“And how do you feel?”

“Right now? Light as a feather. Why weren’t you expecting that?”

Kara started blushing, “I- I don’t really know, you just- you seemed really affectionate.”

“I think you remember us being more affectionate than we actually were.”

“I guess being heartbroken had that effect on my brain.”  
  
“Kara.” Mon-El just wanted to caress her face softly, remind her that she was the only girl in his heart, and she would always be.

“I know you’re about to apologize, don’t, okay? Everything is fine now.” 

Kara forced a grin on her lips: she wasn’t lying, but talking about the past year still hurt her and she didn’t exactly know how to deal with that.

“Okay, I will not apologize for hurting you, but I need you to listen to me: whatever happened with me and Imra is in the past, it’s long gone, and I don’t want you to think you were- or you are - easy to forget, if it hadn’t been for the arrangement I would’ve been a lone wolf for all those years.”

Kara’s blue eyes almost popped out, she raised her eyebrows: “Arrangement?”

“Uh, Brainy didn’t tell you? Or J’onn?” He suddenly had the same expression.

"What arrangement, Mon-El?”

He inhaled and exhaled deeply, “I didn’t get… I didn’t propose to Imra, I didn’t _want_ to marry her. It was an arranged marriage. You know, like that one time, Lena and I?”

_Too much information! Too much information in one second!  
_

“What?!” That word came out as a squeak.

“Wow, I’m handling this really badly,” Mon-El muttered.

Kara crossed her arms and started walking around the room- sometimes disappearing from Mon-El’s sight- but she needed to do something to process everything she had just learned: everything Kara had built inside her head, the perfect relationship Mon-El shared with Imra, _that-much-much-better-than-their-own_ relationship, was all built on lies? Also, she had gladly forgotten about Lena and Mon-El’s wedding, why did he have to bring that up again?

“Kara? Are you okay? Are you still there?”

“I AM! I am!” She finally came back in front of the hologram.

“There you are. Why are you shouting?”

“AM I?”

“Yep, definitely.”

“Oh. Sorry. I just… I feel like a really crappy person right now.”  She took a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Why is that? You’ve done nothing wrong, Kara.”

“I have, you just don’t know about it because it all happened in my head. I assumed that you'd forgotten about me, that you didn’t give our relationship the same importance as I did and that you fell in love with the first pretty girl that approached you… I’m deeply sorry.”

“I don’t blame you, I would’ve expected the same from my old flawed self.”

“No, you were already flawless before you left. You didn’t need a cape or a Legion ring to validate that: I know it’s hard for you to see yourself as worthy of happiness and love, but you are Mon. I was just so busy thinking about how _I_ felt, that I just created a theory that made me feel less bad about us, so I could push myself to move on more easily.”

“Thank you.”

Kara’s words moved him; she had endured so much in her life, Mon-El hated to be part of the reasons that caused her pain, but everything that happened was beyond their control. “And did it work?”

“What?”

“Your theory. Did you move on more easily?” 

He put his hands on his hips, but his voice seemed kind of hesitant.

“What do you think?”  _I’m here talking to you at 1 AM, you’re crushing all the obstacles that keep us apart and I feel you closer than before: I’m pretty sure everything backfired._

She raised an eyebrow and shared a smile with him, they didn’t utter a word: keeping each other on their tip-toes had always been their thing.  
  
“Hey, I know you can’t talk about the future, but you can answer this as a yes-no question.”

“Shoot.”

“Did you find out how Game of Thrones ended?”

“No.”

“You’re lying. You’re not telling me because you didn’t like it.” Kara pouted at Mon-El, making him chuckle.

“No, no, I swear! I didn’t want to find out!”

“Why? If I ever found myself in the future I would immediately look up how my favourite shows ended or my favourite authors’ books.”

“Because we started watching it together, and I was hoping we could finish it together then obviously, a lot of things got in the way and I just forgot about it.”

Kara could feel her heart melt in that moment, so it was time to let sarcasm take over, “Nice answer, Daxamite. I think we can set that up. Did you have that ready?”

“Of course, I have a script right in front of me, Kryptonian. I took notes of all the things that you like to hear.”

“And how many lies have you written down?”

“None, it’s actually really easy to flatter you and please you.”

_That suave son of a— she forgot she was talking to a master heartthrob._

_Why did she suddenly feel the need to kiss him passionately? Why were her cheeks red?_

Kara never realized that their unusual dating circumstances never let them have ‘the flirty phase’ or an actual ‘courting phase’ and to be honest, they probably could count all their normal dates on one hand; but now it seemed like they were back at square one and they were both enjoying it very, very much.

Before ending the call, Kara and Mon-El agreed to not tell anyone- yes, even Alex- about their secret, and promised each other to call every day at the same time and talk about their day: they wished each other goodnight at half past 2 AM, even though they weren’t tired, they just figured that if Mon-El disappeared from the Legion headquarters for over an hour, his teammates might’ve started worrying.  


Kara brought the crystal home and went to sleep with a huge smile on her face: she felt relieved that she could still count on Mon-El to make her day better and give her butterflies, her dreams were so sweet that night.

* * *

Ever since he first got to the 31 st century, Mon-El went out for a walk every day: when he first began this routine, he didn’t want the other Legionnaires to see him cry, then he just figured it was a good way to clear his mind amidst the chaos, whether it was about a mission or his feelings, so no one questioned him leaving every night anymore; that’s why no one was awake when he came back except for

“Where have you been?”

Right, Winn was the new guy.

“Just my usual night walk, it’s a thing I’ve always done since I arrived here.”

“You should’ve told me before, I was starting to worry.”

“I’m sorry, you’re right. You can go to sleep now.”

“Is everything okay?”

“It’s perfect.” 

He smiled gen uinely at his best friend. “Also I just wanted you to know... I’m really happy you’re here.”

“So am I. Goodnight.” 

Winn returned the smile, he was so excited about this new century and everything he had to discover.

“Goodnight.”

It was probably the first night in years that Mon-El truly felt like everything was going to be okay. For one reason or another, he always sensed a burden on him, sometimes he couldn’t even define what it was: Mon-El recognized that he should’ve been grateful for having survived that wormhole that brought him there safely, but some days went from being okay to being bad and then unbearable, that’s when it became harder and harder to be hopeful.

Mon-El had the tiniest glimpse of hope now, it looked like Kara, and he was going to hold onto her as much as possible.


	3. Of Revelations and Mentors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's song is Next to Me by Imagine Dragons, don't forget to follow the fanfiction's playlist! (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6oUcMfa5tsfD75heI4FLl1?si=7hJnQ3YVSxu5UZqBRpvVNg)
> 
> Enjoy this new chapter!❤️

Kara hated her alarm clock more than usual that morning, she was living the most wonderful dream: she was on Argo again having lunch with her mom, then Mon-El showed up at the door and she ran into his arms to hug him. They had the brightest smiles and Alura invited him to join their lunch; the three of them were having so much fun. When they finished their meals, Kara and Mon-El found themselves in that beautiful path they already crossed together: the sun was shining on them when their lips were about to touch, but the sad infuriating reality had to ruin everything, with that alarm going off.

CatCo was an unbelievable mess that morning: President Marsdin had been outed as an alien and Americans felt betrayed; reporters were all over the place, everyone was trying to get the exclusive statement from Marsdin before anyone else, or interviewing citizens to find out how they were feeling about this shocking revelation: Kara trusted the vice-president, however, she couldn’t help but worry about what that would’ve meant for herself and the other aliens in the country.

By midday, she was already exhausted and looking forward to venting at home with Mon-El.

* * *

Mon-El woke up feeling serene like never before, yet he couldn’t wait for midnight, like a reverse Cinderella. 

He promised Winn he would’ve started training him that day, even if his job wasn’t related to the battlefield, he still needed some sort of preparation to defend himself from hostile attacks.

“You know, it’s funny, just a little over a year ago I watched Kara train you and kick your ass and now you’re the one training me.”

“A lot can change in a year.”

“Especially if it’s not actually one year, but seven.”

“Exactly.”

As Winn mirrored Mon-El’s punches on his test dummy, a doubt came across his mind: “I can’t believe I’ve never realized this, but you’ve never talked about those seven years.”

“What are you talking about? I did!”

“Not about yourself, like.. outside of the Legion.”

“Do you wanna hear the story about the lonely boy from Daxam who spent every night crying for months? I doubt it.” 

Mon-El said it ironically, but there was a little bit of hidden truth in there.

“Actually, I do. Because I could never comprehend how my old drinking buddy Mon-El, always cheerful and with a sarcastic comment right up his sleeve, could turn into… this sad, brooding, quiet man.”

“Losing your home for the second time and the love of your life has that effect on you, what can I say.”

He tried to shrug it off but Winn was truly concerned.

“How did you.. you know, get over Kara?”

The hero in the red suit laughed. “Why are you asking this if you already know the answer?”

“I want the long story.”

“We should get back to work.” 

Mon-El tried to walk away from the conversation.

“We have plenty of time to train.” Winn crossed his arms, “You can’t keep everything to yourself, Mon-El! If you do consider me a friend, talk to me.”

Winn was right, “Can we sit down, please?” the friend already braced himself for what seemed was going to be a long story.

“I’m all ears.”

“I.. just didn’t. It was hard to open up to anyone and just tell them how I felt, I couldn’t expect them to understand the absurd events that led me there. So, I just shoved down my feelings, my past and tried to move on.”

“And then you met Imra.”

“No, Imra was one of the first people I met here. The moving on part-” He gestured quotation marks, “-happened after I married her.”

“Wait, I’m confused. What are you saying?”

“That it was an arrangement and it took a long while for us to actually get together.”

Winn’s mind was blown. “Does Kara know about this?”

“She-” If he said yes, he would’ve asked about when he told her, “-no, she doesn’t.”

“Why didn’t you tell her, dude?” 

He looked baffled as if he couldn’t understand why he would keep that from her.

“Because I didn’t want to hurt Imra, she let me go before I came back to fight Reign, but I needed closure with her.”

“And you’re just telling me all of this right now? Wow. No wonder you didn’t talk about those seven years, it seems like you went through a lot, especially emotionally.”

“It’s alright, I’m doing better now.”

“I’m so glad to hear that.”

“I know I already said it, but I’m really happy you’re here.”

“I love you, I got your back.”

“I love you, too.” Mon-El really needed that hug: Winn’s friendship had been the most genuine one he’d had in his life, he treasured it.

* * *

As soon as Kara got home, she quickly devoured her lunch and went to take out one of her crystals, but Alura anticipated her move: “You have something on your face.” 

Her hologram appeared in the middle of her living room.

Something that was supposed to sound like “Mom!” came out of her mouth, Kara cleaned her face and then stated: “I apologize about that, the sadder I get the more I eat.”

Her mother assumed that Mon-El had already called her and that was, somehow, the reason for her feeling unwell: “Did something happen with Mon-El?”

Kara’s eyes widened, then she remembered that Alura was the one who gave him the chance to have her a call away: “No, no, no! No! It’s not him! It’s work-related, CatCo was... too much, this morning.”

“Oh, what happened?”

“The president of United States, Olivia Marsdin, was revealed to be an alien to the entire world today: I already found out last year but I respected her wishes to live in a human disguise and now a lot of people feel betrayed and upset. I don’t know, but I really have a bad feeling about this.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m worried about what consequences there are gonna be, for us, aliens. Humans can be supportive, kind, brave and strong but also selfish, cruel and blinded by hate. I just want people to know that we can live together as one, and not divided into groups. My neighbour can look like me, or maybe not, they can enjoy what I enjoy, or maybe not, but that’s the beauty of our world: each individual has their own story but we can all share our lives on this planet, learning from each other.”

“It makes me a little sad that your brilliant mind can’t join the Council of Argo City, we could really use someone this smart and hopeful, but I’m proud of all the work you have done on Earth: that planet is better because of you.”

“I’m not any better than you, mom.”

“That’s not true: you’re so much better than I was at your age, you’re far more mature than most councilmen here.”

Kara chuckled: “You’re underestimating yourself, Argo City survives to this day because of you.”

“Then don’t underestimate your power as Kara Danvers. You can achieve millions of things and help your city, your world, to learn from their mistakes and be better.”

“Thank you, mom. I love you so much, I’m so happy to have you in my life again.”

“I love you, too, my darling. I’m even happier.”

“Switching to a lighter subject. Thank you for giving Mon-El one of your crystals. We’ve only talked once, yesterday, but I already feel better.”

“I didn’t want you to go through what you lived through last year again.”

“I know, it was pretty rough.” Kara was thankful for her mother’s thoughtfulness.

“Even if we’re not together physically, you will always be my daughter, I will always care for your wellbeing and I will always need to make your life better than it was yesterday.”

“Don’t make me cry, this is supposed to be a happy conversation!” Her eyes started to water.

“But it is. Listen, I have to go now, I just wanted to check on you quickly, I hope you’ll feel better soon, everything will be alright.”

“Thank you for everything, mom. I love you, have a good day.”

“Goodbye!” Alura smiled softly at her daughter before ending the conversation.

Kara knew it was too early to call Mon-El, so she took her laptop to her bed and spent the rest of the day doing research on the vice president and the new secretary that was supposed to replace miss Grant; without even realizing, at some point, she fell asleep exhausted.

* * *

She had left her crystal on the nightstand, so at the same hour as the day before, Mon-El opened the holo-conversation, expecting to find Kara, but he found a blanket burrito instead.

“Kara?” He attempted to wake her softly, whispering, if she wasn’t going to wake up, he would’ve called again the next day. 

After the third time, Mon-El said her name, Kara realized it wasn’t part of her dream.

“Oh Rao!”

“Sorry if I scared you!”

“No, no! I yelled because I forgot about calling you! I am so sorry, it was a long day.”

“It’s okay, do you wanna talk about it instead, b-“

“What?”

“B.. before you fall asleep again?”

Mon-El almost called her _‘babe’_ , like he once used to, but needed to find something else to say to not get busted.

Kara gasped, “I’m not that sleepy!” She giggled, he was happy he could still make her laugh: it still was his favourite thing in the world.

“Okay then, tell me why you were a sad blanket burrito.”

“I didn’t say I was sad.”

“You only wrap a fuzzy blanket around yourself like that when you have a bad day.”

“Your memory is very impressive.”

“I only remember the important stuff.”

“This doesn’t really seem like something important.”

“If it’s something related to you, it’s definitely important.” 

She blushed, not expecting that answer, “but enough talks, tell me about what made you upset.”

“President Marsdin had to leave the White House because people found out that she’s an alien and they all feel cheated. I just hate the fact that a lot of humans are saying she should’ve been honest from the beginning, but what do they know? It’s not their secret to share, everyone has their reasons to keep certain secrets, even big ones. Honestly, aliens are still mistreated to this day in this country, Olivia wanted to pursue her dream of being in politics without feeling judged and now human people are starting to turn their backs on aliens. There’s been a clear shift in everyone’s mood and it’s not good and I’m afraid I won’t be able to do anything to help them have compassion.”

“You will find a way, you always do.” 

Mon-El listened to her concerns attentively, but no one had more faith in her than himself.

“What if I don’t? There’s always a first time.” 

Kara chewed on her bottom lip, maybe she was overthinking and overanalyzing, but what if she wasn’t?  
  
“You will, no one is more determined and outspoken than you. And speaking of first times remember when you wrongfully accused me of attacking the president? That was the first time we met, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, how could I ever forget; you literally brought it up every single time you were right about something and I was wrong.”

“And I won’t let you forget about it easily!” 

“I have apologized!”

“I know you have, silly, but it’s still fun to reminisce.”

“I’d say those were simpler times, but were they, actually?” Kara scratched her cheek.

“Not the simplest, but definitely simpler.”

“It seems like a lifetime ago when you first landed here and I was just teaching you all about Earth - be honest, was I a good mentor?”

Mon-El looked down at his suit, “I’d say that it worked out pretty well, and I wasn’t the easiest student to guide.”

“I’m just asking because there’s this new girl at work, she reminds me a lot of myself a couple of years ago, when I was still Cat’s assistant: I have this innate need to be very protective of her, though, I doubt Cat felt the same way about me.”

“What’s her name?”

“Nia... Nia Nal.”

“Did you say, Nia?”

“Yes, why?”

“Nothing, I just thought I misheard... anyway, you’ll be a great mentor to her, I have no doubt.”

“If you hadn’t been so patient with me, it would’ve never worked out.”

“What do you mean?”

“I kept condemning everything you did, blaming you for handling things badly, when you had just been on this planet for a few weeks. How did you forgive me after I hated on your planet, and even you, for just being born on it?”

“Kara, you were just following everything you had been told on Krypton, and you had every right to hate on Daxam and its people, it needed to get better and my parents were part of the problem, they deteriorated it. I couldn’t do anything, at one point I just let myself go and tried to not feel anything. But being there with you, made me realize the beauty of vulnerability and being good, not to impress anyone, but to be good for myself. I’m glad I’ve changed.”

“You’re such a kind man, Mon-El. I hope you realize that you had generosity inside of yourself before you met me.”

“Thank you, I’ll try to remember that.”

“Hey, I have an idea for bad days like this one” He started explaining, “if we need to be cheered up, one can give the other a signal with the Legion ring, unless you’ve thrown it out already?”

“Yeah, actually about that...” 

Mon-El’s face got paler, “I’m just kidding! It’s right here in the nightstand drawer. How do I give you a signal?”

“Just press the comet right there, my ring will flash a light a few times, and yours will too.” He pressed the comet on his own ring, “See?” Her ring’s light blinked a couple of times.

“And I was here thinking it was just a decoration.”

Mon-El had chosen the comet for a very specific reason: “No, everything has a purpose.” 

Kara was the reason why she lighted up his path guiding him to become the best version of himself. 


	4. Walking Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's song is Distance by Christina Perri, follow the fanfiction's playlist and listen to it during Karamel's scene💕 (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6oUcMfa5tsfD75heI4FLl1?si=rzSdprEvSauHsCXZIr8x0A)

“I saw you sent me a signal, what happened today? Did something sadden you?”

It had been a couple of weeks since Kara and Mon-El began sending each other signals whenever they felt distressed, but they managed to make each other go to sleep every night with a smile on their faces. 

Kara wore her ring as a necklace, so she could take it anywhere she wanted: though, she obviously kept it well hidden from everyone, since it’s very noticeable jewellery.

“No, no, the opposite actually: today it was my co-workers’ birthday and her husband and son surprised her with a bouquet of sunflowers before taking her out for lunch. The little kid had a Goofus and Gallant comic book in his hands and I immediately thought of you, so I instinctively pushed the button. I hope I didn’t scare you.”

“Not at all.” Mon-El smiled imagining the scene, “Do you still think of me of a Goofus?”

“Theoretically, you’re not a Goofus anymore, but you will always be one to me.”

Kara gave him one of those kind smiles that reached her eyes, the smiles that Mon-El loved the most.

“It makes sense.” 

They didn’t say anything, they just got lost looking into each other’s eyes and then realized they both had no idea what they were doing: they were nailing this extremely long-distance _friendlationship_ , that was what they were doing.

“Anyway, like every other year, I’m going to attend Lena’s gala with Alex and I still have no idea what I’m wearing. Do you think you can help me find something?”

“Um, I can try. Shouldn’t you ask Lena this herself? It seems like best friend stuff.”

“I would but she doesn’t really get my preppy style. Her words, not mine.”

He chuckled, “Okay then, let me see what options you have.”

Kara super-sped through her wardrobe, picking up three dresses, “Do you need to see me in them?”

“You’re acting like you can’t wear the three of them in three seconds.”

“Okay, fine!”

She walked further from the hologram and tried the first one on a black sleeveless dress that reached her knees. “So, how’s this one?”

“It looks really good, however, I think you should wear something less plain. You’re not going to a funeral.”

“Wow, you’re a brutal fashion critic.”

“You asked for my opinion, you’re getting it.”

“Technically, I did not. I asked for your help.”

“And this is me helping!”

“Would you still find it plain if I wore more flashy jewellery?”

“At that point, you wouldn’t be you.”

Damn, this boy was making valid points.

“Onto the next one! A little back story first: technically I have already worn this, but not on this Earth.” 

Kara swooshed away, “Here.” She was wearing that floral blue dress she had worn at Iris and Barry’s rehearsal dinner.

Mon-El was stunned, his mouth slightly ajar: “This one. Yes, this one. Blue is your colour. You look beautiful.”

Her cheeks got a shade pinker, “Thank you.. you know, my sister also says that blue is my colour, that’s why I picked my suit to be blue in the first place.”

“When did you wear this?”

“Uhm, right after you came back here I was invited to Barry and Iris’ wedding, I wore it to their rehearsal dinner. Wait, I stand corrected, you were invited too.”

“Was I? That’s sweet of them.” 

Mon-El wasn’t really expecting that since he only met them once, in very strange circumstances.

“Yep, they liked you.”

“And.. how did you explain why I wasn’t there?”

“Well, I changed the subject when Iris asked, but when Barry asked again I couldn’t avoid talking about it anymore, I told him the truth and he felt really sorry for me. But it’s okay, you actually dodged a bullet, since we all nearly died that day.”

“What? You almost died at Barry’s wedding?”

“Long story short: Earth X, Nazi doppelgangers, Kara-X needed a heart transplant, they wanted mine, we beat them and then Barry and Iris and Oliver and Felicity finally got married the next day.”

“What a whirlwind of emotions.”

“You can say that. I’m used to fighting bad guys, but what I wasn’t absolutely prepared for, was seeing Overgirl – that was her name- and Oliver-X being married, which was the only thing more traumatizing than seeing you kiss Im- OH MY GOD, I DIDN’T MEAN TO SAY THAT.”

Mon-El burst out laughing, “No, it’s fine, it’s fine.” 

Kara covered her face with her hands, “I’ve never been more embarrassed, let me end this call right now.”

“No! We can change the subject if you want.”

“Yes, please.” She muttered as her hands still hid her face.

“So, Lena’s gala, who else is going besides you and Alex?”

“James is obviously Lena’s date, then no one else you know, I think. Oh, wait, right, Eve is going.”

“What do you mean _‘obviously’_?”

“Because… they’re dating?”

“They're dating?” 

Mon-El was finding out too many things at once.

“Yes! They have been for almost a year now! Hold up, let me change back into my pyjamas.”

“That’s one unexpected pair.”

“I thought so too at first, but they’re actually really cute.”

“And how is Eve invited?”

“She’s Lena’s new assistant.”

“Did James fire her?” He sounded outraged.

She chuckled, “No, Lena took her to L-Corp because she’s really smart, she studied physics at Yale University.”

“That’s great to hear, I’m happy for her. What’s that behind you?” 

Mon-El pointed at Kara’s nightstand.

“Oh, this” She picked up the book in her hands, “Its the Wizard of Oz: it’s funny how everyone knows it’s my favourite movie but I’ve never read the book. I haven’t started it yet, though.”

“I miss reading so much, there’s not a lot to read here since almost everything got lost. ”

“That’s so sad, I chose to read this because reading calms me down, and with everything happening at CatCo, I really needed this fantasy to distract myself.”

“I know this is gonna be a strange request, but can you read it a bit for me?”

“I would love to. I’ll read the first chapter and then I’ll go to sleep, okay?”

“Perfect, like a bedtime story.”  He giggled.

“Exactly.” Kara opened the first page and started reading, her voice was a sweet melody to his ears.

* * *

The next morning, Mon-El noticed how good Winn had already become at physical combat: he’d warned him he was a quick learner but he didn’t expect him to become so skilled in a short time, he finally realized how he managed to learn so many aliens languages in his time at the DEO. “You need a suit.”

Mon-El had never seen a kid on Christmas morning opening presents, but he’d assumed that’s exactly what one looked like: Winn was elated and couldn’t wait to make himself the _‘greatest suit ever’_ , causing the other Legionnaires’ amusement.

That afternoon, Imra interrupted Mon-El’s solo training, claiming she wanted to talk to him about something: “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, absolutely, it’s just something about myself.”

“What’s up?”

Imra started showing more insecurity, stuttering her words, “I think you’ve noticed that me and Garth have gotten closer since we came back from the 21 st century.” 

At that moment, Mon-El immediately knew where this talk was heading to.

“Yeah, I did… and before you say anything else, you don’t need my permission to date someone else: you deserve to be happy, so just go ahead.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“I know we’ve broken up on the best of terms but I was afraid that you were resentful because I didn’t let you go back to the 21 st century sooner when it was clearly what you needed. Or that you’d think that you aren’t important to me.”

“It doesn’t matter now, there’s no resentment and I’m happy in the place that I am right now, with my relationships. I want you to feel just as glad.”

“Thank you Mon-El,” She hugged him "Anyone would be lucky to have someone like you in their lives. I hope you’ll find your way back to Kara someday.”

“Me too.” He smiled at Imra’s genuine words.

* * *

Another boring day was coming to an end, but at least Kara had something different to look forward to that night: the gala.

Hopefully, no one would attack Lena and her guests this time: third time’s the charm. 

She noticed her sister flirting with a girl and chuckled, Alex was a natural: however when someone asked the much less prepared sister to dance, Kara didn’t know how to react. A tall man with blond hair and green eyes stepped closer to her, with an empty glass in hand; 

“No, thank you.”

Alex later scolded her for refusing the offer, but of course, she wouldn’t understand why she felt so uncomfortable, also because she sounded kind of tipsy.

_Why did she suddenly want to omit this particular fact to Mon-El?_

No. 

She had to be honest with him and the truth to be told, nothing major happened.

“Now that I’m sober enough to handle this argument: why didn’t you dance with that guy last night? He was cute!” 

Alex marched inside of Kara’s loft in the afternoon.

“Alex, I didn’t feel like it.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I wasn’t comfortable enough to dance with a stranger?”

“That’s the whole point of dancing parties, Kara! You meet pretty strangers and talk until they’re not strangers anymore, and then perhaps you get more physical but I know you’re not that kind of girl.”

“Definitely not.”

“My point is, what’s the harm in just having fun? Distracting yourself for a night?”

“I just didn’t want to, okay?”

“Kara… I know that things with Mon-El didn’t end in the best of ways, but it’s been almost a year since he came back, he’s married too!”

“They broke up-“

“What I’m trying to say is that he’s not here now, and he won’t be for God knows how long, I want you to enjoy life to the fullest instead of being fixated on him. I’m saying this because I want you to be happy.”

“I am happy right now, Alex. Much happier than I was a year ago and I’m fine with not having Mon-El around right now, I just don’t feel ready to go out on dates yet, okay?” 

Kara hoped her forehead wasn’t crinkling in that moment.

“Okay.. but if you ever change your mind, I asked Lena to get the guy’s number: he’s a lawyer!” 

She handed her a piece of paper. 

“Alex!”

_“Ihavetogonow- J’onniscallingme, byeeeeee!”_

Kara stared at the number and then easily threw it in her trashcan, without a second thought. 

Kara’s relationship with Mon-El had always been complicated, now more than ever, since they haven't even put a label on it: but she surely didn’t want to.

* * *

Midnight was a few minutes away when his beautiful smile lit up her room: “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Did you have fun at the gala?”

“I had fun, but not as much as I would have if I stayed at home to watch Netflix.”

“From what I remember, unless there’s an attack from Cadmus, those galas are rather monotone, so I don’t blame you, I’d prefer watching a show with you as well.”

“Though, my drunk sister is a very entertaining show, too.”

“Is it good? I think I’m gonna add that to my queue.” 

They burst out laughing, maybe it could happen one day at the alien bar when they’d all be together.

“Hey, listen... I wanted to talk to you about something that happened last night, which isn’t really a big deal but I want to make a point out of this: a guy asked me to dance and I refused. Alex went on a rant to say how I needed to move on from you because you’re not here with me anymore.”

Mon-El swallowed, noticing the more serious tone of the discussion. 

“Obviously, I couldn't tell her that we’re still keeping in touch.”

“What are you trying to say, Kara?” He sounded more concerned now.

“Just that... I don’t care. I don’t care about being physically apart from you, because in the past month you’ve always been here with me: you’ve always been here to cheer me up, or to say the right word at the right time. I don’t want to lose _us_ , no matter the distance.”

“Me neither.”

If he were sitting next to Kara, he would’ve caressed her cheek to calm her down. “You’re not gonna lose me.”

“I’m just so scared about ruining this fragile little thing we have, that I can’t even find the words to describe it, or I just can’t say them out loud.”

“You don’t have to. We know ourselves too well, beyond words, so you don’t need to find them. I’ll always understand you before you even utter a thing.”  
  
Kara felt such a relief knowing that Mon-El wasn’t going to push her into defining the relationship they had and he was right: they knew the feelings they had for each other, they didn’t need a definition because those feelings were solely theirs, and no one else’s. He pulled out his necklace from his suit and gave it a small kiss, “Always with me, in my heart.”

She did the same with her Legion ring, “Always.”


	5. Sight and Touch

* * *

It had been a week since the gala and Kara and Mon-El’s silent agreement.  She had just gotten off the phone after an exciting call with her cousin Clark, whom she hadn’t heard from since he left for Argo City with Lois: they had just returned and she'd invited them over for Thanksgiving’s family lunch. 

K ara took off her clothes and for the first time in over a year, she opened the second drawer of what used to be Mon-El’s nightstand, where he kept his shirts and where Kara put the things he forgot at her place: she put on his blue flannel shirt and paired it with some old leggings, which made him look handsome, but made her look very tiny and he always used to laugh about it. 

The blue shadow appeared in front of her, “Hi… is that my shirt?”

“Bingo. Do- do you mind?”

“No! No, I was just surprised. You look cute and so tiny.” He giggled.

“Here we go again... I know, but it’s nice for the Girl of Steel to look human for once, not having to worry about seeming fierce and mighty.”

“You’re right, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, it’s actually the opposite! So, how was your day?”

“Uhm, I was very irritated at first because of some things I heard on TV, but then Clark called me, he’s back!”

“Oh, that’s great! Wh-where did he go?” Mon-El asked timidly.

“Crap. You’re right, you didn’t know: he went on Argo City with Lois for the past two months. He met my mom, he found out things he didn’t know about our culture, he introduced Lois to his world and from what I heard, they really enjoyed it, he sounded very happy.”

“Argo is a really beautiful place, I wish we could’ve been there for longer.”

“It is, but don’t worry, we can always visit again when you get back.”

“Promise?”

“Pinky promise.” 

Kara raised her smaller finger and Mon-El did the same, her words were authentic and so was the look she was giving him.  “Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here.”

“Aw, Thanksgiving: that was a fun holiday… even though I’ve only celebrated it once, but it was nice!”

“Even with Barry and Cisco almost materializing themselves on my turkey?”

“Yes, that added more spice to it.”

Kara burst into laughter, “I hope this lunch won’t be as weird as that one: I’m inviting Brainy, Nia and Lena for the first time, I want to make a good impression, also Clark and Lois are coming over for the first time in 5 years. Oh, I have a little bad news.”

“What?”

“I can’t talk to you tomorrow night, because Eliza is sleeping here and obviously, as much as she’d love to see you again, I can’t let us be caught.”

“It’s alright, I can deal with that. And what was that about Eliza seeing me? She’d love to?”

“Yes, what? I thought you knew she really liked you.”

“Yes, I knew that I just… didn’t think anyone would like me after the whole... you know.”

“Hey, first of all, it wasn’t your fault and second of all, no one here could hate you: you’re family.”

Mon-El was so moved by those words, his eyes got teary; so she continued “I thought you had already figured that out when Alex didn’t shoot you in the crotch with her favourite gun.”

“I’m the one who’s supposed to make jokes to break the emotional tension, that’s my thing.” He said wiping his eyes.  “Speaking of family: your best friend has gotten really good at sparring,” lowering his voice, he whispered, "he’s getting a suit.”

“Oh Rao, are you serious? I bet he’s over the moon right now.”

“He is, he’s excited like I’ve never seen.”

“That makes me…” Kara yawned suddenly, “so happy.”

“Are you tired?”

“A little bit, but it’s nothing I can’t handle... I wanna talk to you.”

“I want you to rest, we can talk in two days and we can talk for longer.”

Kara pulled out her irresistible weapon: the pout.

“C’mon, babe.” 

This time he wasn’t able to suppress the word before it fully came out, but Kara didn’t seem to mind it, it actually melted a bit of her heart.

“Okay, fine.” She yawned once more.

“Good night, Kara.”

“I’ll see you in two days.. good night Mon.”

* * *

The sun shone through Kara’s curtains, in that quiet November morning waking her up: she had a quick breakfast, hearing the news on television to make sure nothing and no one was going to ruin this holiday, and finally, she changed into another pyjama set because she couldn’t let her family see her wearing Mon-El’s shirt. 

The first ones to arrive were J’onn, Alex and Eliza, who helped Kara pick her dress and start cooking up the meals in the old fashioned way—without heat vision; James and Lena were next, then Brainy and Nia, who had made cupcakes for the occasion, to end with Lois and Clark.

“Hello guys! Welcome back!” 

Kara welcomed them with the warmest hug, then whispered: “Remember that Nia and Lena don’t know about the whole superhero thing.”

“It’s good to see you again, Kara.” Lois patted her back.  “We know how these family gatherings go...” Clark added, before going to greet everyone else: it seemed like this Thanksgiving was going to be as good as it could get, except for Lena being kind of cold towards her cousin: _Right, I forgot the whole arch-nemesis part._

As the lunch was headed to an end, and everyone prepared their stomachs for Nia’s cupcakes, Clark asked for the crowd’s attention: “It’s really great to be surrounded by my family, new and old friends, again: we figured that this would be the perfect occasion to announce this. Lois?”

He fixed his glasses onto his nose with one hand, holding his girlfriend with the other. “We’re having a baby!”

Kara was the first one to jump from her seat with excitement, the whole room exploded in cheers and applause: “Congratulations!”

When she got closer to the couple so that no one else could hear, Kara mouthed ”How?” to which, Lois simply replied: “Two words: Argo City.”

“Wow, I guess Argo is gonna steal Paris’ title as _City of Love_!”

She didn’t exactly mean to say it out loud, and she didn’t exactly mean that _referring to Lois and Clark_ , however, Kara was glad they didn’t catch the reference, even though her cousin knew that Mon-El went on that journey with her.

She wished he could’ve been here with her, with them all to celebrate a normal holiday, as normal people: it stung a little, seeing Kal-El happily sharing a life with his soulmate, starting a family with her, a new chapter together, while hers was miles and centuries away.

Kara knew she was lucky enough to be able to contact Mon-El every day, but in that particular moment, her heart sunk a bit, missing him for the first time since he had left again: she reached for her ring and clicked the comet.

As if the day was going _too_ well, J’onn got an alert from the DEO: an alien was terrorizing citizens at the waterfront, it seemed like a humanoid Cyclops. 

Both Clark and Kara were about to stand up but she told him to stay, it was gonna be a quick fight, she didn’t want to ruin the happy atmosphere of the house: only J’onn followed her, he didn’t want to hear any excuse.

“Sir, do you need any help?” Supergirl said ironically, approaching him slowly.

“Oh, I was waiting for you.” 

The Cyclops turned around, she realized then that something was off: he didn’t attack anyone, yet he knew that Supergirl would’ve arrived to stop him, Martian Manhunter stepped closer but he wasn’t fast enough to shield Kara from the black fog that came out of the Cyclops’ mouth: “He’s not a Cyclops, he’s a sight stealer!”

Kara cried out loud as the enemy ran away in the blink of an eye, “I can’t see anything! I can’t see! J’onn!”

“We have to go to the DEO, now!”

“But the alien..”

“We’ll get him another day.” 

J’onn took Kara in his arms and flew to their workplace, “Take Supergirl to the med-bay, a Vexoculus attacked her. Turn the sun lamps on.” The former boss instructed the agents, Alex followed her frightened sister, making sure that she knew she was by her side, holding her hand.

“Listen, Kara. You’re in front of the lamps right now, this is gonna fade away in a few hours, you’ll be able to see again tonight, okay?” 

J’onn tried to keep her as calm as possible, Kara’s breathing was still uneven and her eyes were filled with tears.

“Okay.. please, don’t leave.”

“We won’t.” Alex kissed her head, J’onn sat next to her.

She had never experienced anything worse than claustrophobia, but feeling anxious as hell without even seeing her surroundings came pretty close to it: Kara tried to focus on the contact from her loved ones and realized how badly she craved physical connection. Alex’s hand was steady on hers, yet it felt like a feather on her steel-like flesh; that’s when -inevitably - her thoughts went to Mon-El.

Kara was feeling like all the love in the world, the civilians who admire her, her friends, her family, just couldn’t fulfil her loneliness at that moment: perhaps the temporary loss of her sight amplified that uneasiness, but she knew that she was like a puzzle missing a single piece at that moment, and that piece wasn’t next to her.

Brainy, Clark and Eliza joined Alex and J’onn in the med bay, however, all those comforting words and consolatory caresses quickly got too overwhelming for Kara: “I want to be alone right now, I feel like my hearing is on override and my head hurts, I want to rest.”

“Okay, we’re leaving now,” Alex stated nodding, looking at the other people in the room. “I’ll check on you later.”

Kara knew that this situation was temporary, yet the first thing she did as soon as she was left alone, was cry. 

Until that accident, she had never realized how much she had relied on her sight, how she settled for seeing and watching everything without really feeling it, how most of the things she felt on her skin were punches and distant hugs, how she was content with simply talking to Mon-El without being able to hold him when she needed it the most. It all hit Kara at once and she just couldn’t hold back the tears anymore: she fidgeted with the ring and clicked the comet for the second time in a few hours.

It was almost time to eat when Kara slowly got her vision back, but her appetite didn’t return with it, she just wanted to go home and maybe, just maybe dream about that feeling that she longed so much for; she didn’t want to talk, but she let Eliza play with her hair as she fell asleep next to her.

The next morning at the DEO, Brainy suggested Kara trained more using her super-hearing, in case other accidents like this happened, everyone agreed but Kara: it was still too soon and she preferred if he made a type of mask resistant to the Vexoculus’ fog. Brainy and Alex seemed to understand, but he’d warned her that that kind of training would’ve come in handy sometime in the future; on the other hand J’onn, thought that it was better to give her some time off and took to the task of finding the alien and imprisoning him.

That night couldn’t come soon enough, Kara needed to feel Mon-El with her in one way or another: she wore another one of his shirts, desperately looking for hints of his scent; her gaze got lost on his side of the bed, on his pillow, she just wanted that emptiness to be filled with his presence. 

Mon-El’s hologram appeared as if he heard her speechlessly begging him to be with her, his smile disappeared slowly as he realized there was something wrong with Kara. “What happened?”

“A lot, but to summarize it all I think I could just say: I really missed you, today.”

“I missed you, too.” 

He tried to read her eyes, they seemed tired and lifeless like he had never seen. “Please, tell me what happened, you know I get worried about you especially when you try to avoid talking about it.”

“As usual, Thanksgivings doesn't ever go as planned for Kara Danvers.. did you see that I sent you two signals, today?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, the first one was sent during one of the happiest mornings of my life, at least in a long while: Clark and Lois announced that they’re having a baby and I.. just wished that you could’ve been here with us to share that joy.” 

Kara looked down at her hands, she couldn’t let Mon-El read her eyes, even if she wanted to see him, she just couldn’t look at him.

“But there’s more.”

“Yes, I- I got attacked by a Vexoculus today: I couldn’t see anything for a couple of hours.” 

She raised her gaze at him again. “And it was overwhelming.”

“Rao, that must’ve been terrible.” Mon-El hated feeling so helpless at that moment.

“Yeah, it was.. but not just because I couldn’t see. I realized how badly I needed to be held at that moment, but the person I wanted to be held by wasn’t next to me. I had comfort, but it wasn’t enough… and I acknowledge I’m overreacting, it’s stupid because I know that you have duties in the future and I understand that you must stay there, but my heart doesn’t.” 

Kara shrugged, a few tears wetted her cheeks once more, but at that point, it didn’t matter anymore, he was the only one who could see her and make her that vulnerable.

“It kills me that I can’t be with you, as much as it’s killing you, but we have to stay strong, okay? I’m promising you that I’m not going anywhere, I’ll be with you when you need me the most, I’ll hold you when you want to be held, I’ll ask you to talk to me whenever you feel like you can’t and you can do the same. I will _always_ be by your side, Kara. We just have to hold on a little bit longer.” 

It pained him to say those words, but Mon-El knew it was the truth and they both needed to hear it. “Okay?”

Kara nodded, “Okay.”

“Good. Do you believe in _happily ever afters_?”

That question surprised Kara, but she had already rehearsed the answer too many times in her head: “Not when it comes to me.”

“Forget about it because I just promised you one.”

She smiled for the first time that day, she could sense the tears coming again, but this time, those weren’t the sad ones.

It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever heard, no, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever been told, and the best part was that she believed _every single word of it._ Making Kara happy was the best thing Mon-El knew he could do, nothing made him feel better than that: he was determined to give her all of the joy that he could, even if that was the last thing he ever did.

Kara read another chapter of The Wizard of Oz to Mon-El, their feelings took them on a rollercoaster that night and they needed to simmer down.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Thanks to you, of course.”

“Good, because I wanna see that pretty smile of yours tomorrow.”

“You will, will I see yours?”

“Of course. Good night, Kara.”

“Good night, Mon-El and thank you again.”

  
Once the call ended, he smiled at the crystal in his hands.

“Mon-El, what was that?” His eyes shot up when he saw Winn standing nearby.


	6. Happily Ever After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's song is Be Alright by Dean Lewis!

* * *

“Winn! What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to ask you something about my suit, what are _you_ doing here? Was that a hologram of Kara?”

Mon-El scratched the back of his head, unsure of what he was supposed to tell his friend: “Yes.”

“Was that actually Kara? and what is that prism?”

He sighed, “Can we sit down and talk this out?” 

Winn followed his request, “I’m listening.”

“That was Kara, this helps me communicate with her.”

“And you’ve been keeping this a secret from me? She’s my best friend, Mon-El, don’t-“

“I know! Of course, I know that! But we just couldn’t tell anyone, nobody knew about this except for me and Kara. Not even Alex is aware of it.”

The last part of the sentence made something click inside of Winn, that was certainly unusual. “Why can’t you tell anyone?”

Mon-El groaned in frustration, as he tried to reveal as little information as possible, however, he realized he just couldn’t hide anything from Winn.

“Alura told me to keep this secret; she’s the one who gave me the crystal to be in touch with Kara, without even telling her.”

“Alura? Like... Kara’s mom?”

“Yep.”

“So I’m guessing she gave that to you before leaving National City again.”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve been talking to Kara ever since, without anyone knowing.”

“Yes.”

“So, three months.”

“Three months.”

It was now Winn’s turn to groan, he passed a hand on his eyes: “I don’t know how to say this, but.. are you together, right now?”

_There we go…_

“No.”

“You’re telling me you’ve been talking every night for three months and you’re not a couple?”

“Mh-mh.”

“Let me phrase the question one more time... are you just friends?”

Mon-El couldn’t answer that question without feeling caught, so he just stared at him. “What have you two been talking about for all this time?”

“Everything I mean, I couldn’t reveal a lot, because I didn’t want to alter the timeline but, we’ve been talking about everything, like one does when they come home at the end of the day. It’s always the best part of it.”

“But you’re not at home with her, sitting on her couch.”

“I know that.”

“I bet that you’ve been upset about this at least once a day, both of you.”

“Sometimes but we make it work.”

“Look, Mon-El you’ve become like a brother to me during these past two weird years and I know you don’t want to hear this, but you’re just hurting each other at this point: we don’t know when we’ll go back to our friends, we don’t know _if_ we’ll ever go back. You’re pretending this is normal but it’s not. Talking to Kara might be a temporary relief for you, but we have a mission to complete here, there’s no time for fake hopes and illusions. You don’t want her to wait and wait and wait for God knows how long, do you?”

Mon-El was shocked to hear the harsh truth, "But I- I can’t leave her, Winn.”

“You’re just breaking her heart!”

“But I promised!” Teardrops were tickling Mon-El’s eyes.

“Why did you promise her something that you can’t be sure of?”

“I promised her mom I wouldn’t leave her alone, not again. Kara deserves to be happy and to feel loved.”

“Neither of you will find happiness in this situation.” 

Winn tried to walk away, “I’m saying this because I want the best for you both, this is torture. Until we’re sure that we’ve won against Brainiac, we can’t leave the Legion. Please, stop deceiving her.”

As Winn walked away, Mon-El couldn’t fight back the tears anymore: he loved Kara more than anything, he was sure that his love for her was stronger than any love ever experienced in every universe, but Winn’s words were clouding his thoughts; maybe he was right. 

Maybe Kara didn’t deserve this: they had just talked about how much it hurt her to not be able to have him with her, how it hurt not to be together physically and what had he done to make her feel better? Another empty promise, a huge one: _a happily ever after._

Rao, he was so stupid to think a hologram was enough to fill that emptiness, but honestly, it was only holding her back from finding peace in her life.

She didn’t deserve to spend months, that could turn into years, longing for someone that couldn’t ever give her what she needed. Alura definitely overestimated his capabilities as a man and a hero, he had so much more time to spend in the future to protect the world. 

_Kara didn’t deserve this._

The realization hit Mon-El through sobs; if he truly wanted to give Kara her happily ever after, he had to let her go.

He dried his cheeks and hoped that his face looked normal enough in case anyone noticed him: he went straight to sleep in his room. 

Too bad Mon-El spent the entire night tossing and turning, feeling a heavyweight on his chest. 

He didn’t know how he was supposed to tell Kara they weren’t gonna talk anymore, after all of the promises he had made to her. 

Was this fair? No. Was it the right thing to do? Yes.

Their relationship _always_ ended up to be summarized by that sentence. Mon-El held onto his necklace as he tried to fall asleep once more, but now he was questioning whether he deserved to wear it: it was Kara’s most prized possession but soon enough, she was going to hate him.  


He needed more time.

* * *

The morning after, with weary eyes, Mon-El dragged his feet to the training room, needing a way to let his feelings out: he avoided conversation with everyone, he skipped lunch and asked Winn to talk to him only if it had to do with the Legion; he wanted to be left alone because he had to get used to it, that’s what his future looked like.

“Mon-El.”

“Found anything new?”

“Not yet, I just wanted to talk about-“

“We have nothing to talk about, what you said last night was right and I’m dealing with it at my own pace.” 

He basically lashed out at him, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so harsh.”

“It’s fine, I’ll go back to monitoring the area...”

“Winn.”

“What?”

“Don’t you wanna talk to your best friend?”

“Of course I do.”

“Do you want to talk to her tonight? She’ll be happy to see you.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. Why-“

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Were you going to ask why it is okay for me to talk to her? I don’t have any unresolved feelings, Mon-El. I’m not standing on the edge. Do you understand that?”

“I always forget you’re the smart friend.” He let out a bitter chuckle.

The good news was that Mon-El had bought himself one more day before breaking Kara’s heart, the bad news was that Kara was still going to end up shattered and angry.

* * *

“It’s midnight, it’s time to call her, come here.”

Winn followed him to the usual spot where he talked to her. 

“Listen, I’m not sure I can talk to her tonight, so I’m just leaving you two to chat: usually, I’m the one to close the call, the crystal needs my fingerprint, this time I think you have to let Kara end it.”

Her blue shadow appeared in front of the two boys, her eyes sparkled seeing both of them together: “Winn!”

“Kara, hi!”

“How—did you tell him?”

Mon-El scratched his chin, “No, he found out himself. Uhm, I have something to do tonight,” his breathing got heavier “so I’m leaving you two alone so you can catch up.”

Kara’s voice dropped a little, disappointed: “Okay, okay.”

“How is my best friend in the whole world doing?”

“Much better now that I get to see my best friend in the whole world. A perfect belated Thanksgiving gift.”

The last thing Mon-El saw walking away was her smile reaching her eyes and his heart ached at every beat: leaving Kara for the first time was the hardest thing he’d ever done, it didn’t get easier the second time and this third time was going to be the most painful one because they really thought they had a chance at a future together.

_“This is for the best, this is for the best”_ was all Mon-El told himself to sugarcoat the situation.

“Ahh, it was my first Thanksgiving without Eliza’s incredible meals and Danvers’ family dramas.”

“We missed you!”

“How is Alex?”

“You know, flirting around to get over that strange and short-lived crush on Sam, I’d say she’s doing great. Tell me how’s life treating you? Mon-El told me you got used to the new millennium quickly.”

“I did, this place is awesome if you don’t count the ominous and mysterious bad guys. I really like the Legionnaires, Mon-El assembled a pretty darn great group.”

Kara smiled, thinking about when he’d told her that he created the Legion of Superheroes in her honour. “I’m really proud of you both, I hope you two know that.”

“We try to remember that, yeah.” Winn giggled.

“Has some pretty alien caught your eye there?”

“Ha-ha, no. I’m focusing on my ‘job’ right now, I’m trying to not think about any sentimental liaison and most of the Legionnaires are succeeding in getting their heads in the game, except for Imra and Garth, I guess…” 

He murmured the last few words.

“Who is Garth?”

“Too much _information_! Forget about it. Aaahh, now I understand why Mon-El kept this from me.”

“If I’ve learned something from the past two years, it’s that if Mon-El omits something or lies, he usually has the best intentions. Although in this case, it was my mom who told him not to tell anyone, she’s really smart.”

“Mother knows best. I have a question... would you mind if my suit was blue? Technically, it isn’t the same shade of blue as yours, but I figured I should ask you first.”

“Of course I don’t mind that, Winn! I’d love if your suit was in some way resembling mine: you might be a Legionnaire now, but you’ll always be a Superfriend first.”

“Thank you, Kara. I should probably get to work now, I know it’s a weird time, but I’m more focused at night.” 

His eyes shone with enthusiasm. “I hope you’ll get to see this suit in person, very soon.”

“I hope so, too. Your absence is really noticeable here, especially in the DEO: don’t get me wrong, Brainy is great and helps a lot, but I miss you and your geeky film quotes and Harry Potter references.”

“You are going to make me ugly cry!” Winn pointed at his sweet friend, “Please, close this call so I can cry without anyone seeing it!”

She grinned, happy, "Good night, Winn.”

“Good night, Kara!”

“Love you!”

“Love you too!”

Kara went to sleep with a huge smile on her face, she was so glad she’d gotten to see both of her favourite men tonight. 

Once again she’d dreamed of being on Argo City: this time along with her mom and Mon-El, she saw Clark and Lois with a very big baby bump. Yet, she noticed that something else was different: their clothes. 

Usually, Kara and Mon-El would wear what they actually wore during their trip to Argo, but now, he was wearing a deep blue, almost black shirt and dark grey pants: she stared at him from head to toe. Looking down, Kara realized she had a baby bump just like Lois and gasped, but when she looked back up, Mon-El wasn’t next to her. 

Her weird dream ended right there, leaving Kara with a slight sense of discomfort for the rest of the day, but she tried to ignore it: she wondered what Mon-El would’ve thought, once she’d told him about it, obviously leaving out the tiny detail that she was pregnant.

* * *

Kara finally sat down with her legs crossed on her bed, waiting for Mon-El to appear in front of her: he was a few minutes late, so she sent him a signal with her ring. 

Another five minutes passed and when that slight discomfort was starting to look more like worry, Mon-El finally showed up.

  
“Hi! What took you so l-” 

She interrupted her own question as soon as she noticed the void look in his eyes, tired and weary like she’d never seen before: he had surely been crying.

“Mon-El, are you okay? Did something happen to the Legion? Is Winn okay?”

He sniffled, “No, yeah, everyone is okay, I just…” he scratched his eyebrow, “We need to talk.”

That’s when Kara’s face got paler and her heartbeat got faster; whatever he was about to say, it wasn’t going to be good.

“One thing I’ve learned during our relationship was that the truth never hurts as much as secrets, and you’ve repeated that to me when we first saw each other in your century again. I’ve always tried to be as truthful as possible, ever since you forgave me for lying about my real identity, so I’m trying really hard to do that again, now. I can’t keep my promises: I can’t be here for you, I can’t give you what you deserve, I can’t be _your happily ever after_.” 

Both of their hearts started to crumble in a billion pieces. 

“I- I don’t understand.” Kara’s voice was already choked up and those few words struggled to come out. 

“When Winn found out about our secret, he made me realize that we’re just playing with our feelings. Two days ago, seeing you in so much pain because of our distance was killing me and it still is, I would’ve ran to hold you in my arms immediately, leaving everything and everyone here behind, but I can’t… and I won’t be able to do so, for a very long time. We have no clue on what this enemy is planning to do next or where he’s going to hit and that is terrifying, he's nothing like we've ever encountered: you don’t deserve to wait for me and suffer while doing so.”

He inhaled and exhaled as teardrops touched his skin, unsure of how those words could’ve left his mouth: “We can’t talk anymore.”

Kara cried silent tears, practically holding her breath: “It’s funny how you say you don’t want me to suffer, but that’s exactly what you’re doing right now: making me suffer.” 

She uttered every word with venom and anger.

“It’s only gonna be temporary. You will find happiness again, you will find love again: that’s when you’ll finally live happily ever after.” 

Mon-El tried to give her the most fake genuine smile, as he’d always done when he felt at his worst.

“This pain _won’t_ be temporary, because you weren’t something temporary to me: you are everything I’ve ever wanted, don’t you understand that? No one else could ever compare to you, Mon-El. You have been and will always be the love of my life.”

“Kara… please, don’t make this any harder.” 

He felt like blades were stabbing his chest repeatedly; just as she felt empty as if every emotion was being sucked out of her one by one.

“I want to make this harder so maybe you’ll realize how stupid this is: I would wait years and years for you, just like you would’ve done for me if it wasn’t for that damned arrangement.” 

Kara was fighting with every ounce of her strength to make him stay, to help him figure out they could’ve made it, no matter what. 

On the other hand, Mon-El was fighting to remain irremovable on his decision, it was for the best even if they couldn’t see it in that moment.

Almost as if those were her last words, pronounced on her last, exhausted, breath, Kara said: “I love you.” 

She knew she was the one who said to not put labels on their relationship because she thought it was too complicated when really, it was the easiest thing in the universe: it was just love.

Mon-El put his hand up, as if they were separated by a wall of glass, Kara mirrored his movement and put her hand on his; he sighed, the tears just kept on flowing on both sides of that virtual wall: “I love you, too. I love you much more than I’ve ever loved anyone, Kara, myself especially. That is why I choose to let you go, because I value your happiness way more than I value my own.”

“Don’t go... please, Mon-El.”

“Good night.”

“Mon-El!”

And just like that, he was gone.


	7. Sister Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's song is Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi, enjoy! ❤️

Kara was just laying on her bed staring blankly at the ceiling: how could she have let it happen again? 

How could he be gone again? 

Was it her fault? 

Did she scare him away once she told him she needed him by her side?  


Too many doubts and dilemmas that simply had no answer: she closed herself to the world once more and tried focusing on her jobs so that she didn’t have to feel her heart _shattering_. 

Alex tried to get through the walls that Kara had built around herself, but her little sister just wouldn’t talk; even Nia was starting to worry, she had never seen her friend like this before.  
  
It took Kara two days to muster the courage to call her mom and tell her that everything she wished for her daughter had just backfired.

“Kara! What happened?”

She sniffled, a half-smile appearing on her lips trying to disguise all the pain she was going through. “It’s over, again. He left me.” 

Kara squeezed her eyes shut trying to not get any more tears out, but it was useless, it was stronger than her.

“Oh, my sweet darling, how—what happened?”

“I don’t even know... I think we made promises that were bigger than both of us and he just got scared? I don’t know, mom.”

“Kara, breathe easy. What did he say?”

Keeping in mind that she couldn’t mention Winn, “He… said he couldn’t keep his promise, to make me happy and come back here and stay with me: he just told me that I shouldn't have to wait for him because that would’ve hurt more and I didn’t deserve it. He let me go, like that.”

“I’m so, so, sorry.”

“It really hurts, mom. I really thought that we could’ve made it this time, but it’s time to face the music: we were _never_ meant to be together. We have different paths, different destinies, that will always keep us apart.”

“You don’t know what your future holds.”

“Then why is he in the future without me? We tried our hardest to defy all the obstacles and people that came in our way, but it didn’t work.”

“What do you say about coming here to Argo for a little bit, to distract yourself?”

Kara chuckled, “No offence mom, but that place would only make everything worse: it reminds me of everything we almost were and what we’ll never be.”

“Then, I’ll come to National City.”

“No, no, I have to focus on all the articles I’m writing about President Baker and his past statements, which are rather problematic, then Alex and J’onn would ask why you came here so suddenly and I wouldn’t be able to tell them the truth.”

“Fine, you need your own space to heal. Let me just allow you to break my rule and tell the truth to Alex: you can’t keep everything to yourself, otherwise you’re going to breakdown.“

“Really?”

“I trust her and I obviously want you to get better, so if I can’t be with you, Alex can be my replacement. She’s family after all.”

Kara wiped away a tear, the burden of this secret was feeling less heavy, however it still hurt like hell. 

“I know that when Mon-El left for the first time, you became colder and didn’t smile anymore, but remember it’s okay to be vulnerable. You’re gonna be happy.”

“I really don’t see how at the moment, but I’ll try to keep it in mind.”

“I’m sorry about how things went with Mon-El... maybe I shouldn’t have given him the crystal.”

“No, no, you did the right thing and I have no regrets: it made me happy just like you wanted, this… will pass. Eventually. You had the best intentions, but this just didn’t go as planned.” 

She put on the best smile she could at that moment: he let her go to find happiness and sooner or later she was going to.

Kara thanked her mom once more, before ending their conversation: it was time to talk to Alex and let her walls down.

* * *

Running to her sister’s apartment as soon as she could Alex found Kara sitting on her couch, playing with a necklace she had never seen before.

“What is that?”

“That is the reason I wanted to talk, sort of.”

Alex sat down next to her quietly, just waiting for her to continue: “As you’ve already noticed the past few days, I’ve been.. broken. I’ve been hiding something big from you, but now I just got the green light to tell you about it and uhm—unburden myself. A few months ago, when my mom, Winn and Mon-El left, I gave her three crystals to keep in touch, however she decided to give one of those to Mon-El.”

Her sister connected the dots, “Does that mean you’ve been talking to him for the past few months?”

“Yes, he’d call every night: my mother instructed us to not reveal it to anyone because of the possible repercussions on the timeline.. but the other night, he decided to stop talking to me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“What is it that you don’t understand?”

“Why he wouldn’t want to talk to you anymore.”

“At first I kept wondering the same, but he was right after all... I don’t deserve to yearn for who knows how long until he comes back. We’ve been foolish to think that this was going to be easy.” 

Kara had started to talk more with her voice of reason, not with her aching heart, to prevent her tears from coming back.

“So that’s why your mood shifted so drastically. You seemed happier, and suddenly you were back to how you were about a year ago.” 

She nodded sadly, biting her lower lip.

“Is that his ring?” Alex pointed at the object she fidgeted with. 

“Yeah. I probably should take it off, but I can’t... not yet.” 

Her voice started to tremble and Alex knew it was time to give her the most comforting hug she could: as soon as her arms surrounded Kara’s figure, she let go of the necklace and started crying in her sister’s embrace. She should’ve felt more relieved after telling Alex her secret, yet she felt even more fragile and helpless: if Kara agreed with Mon-El’s decision, then why didn’t it make her feel any better at all?  
  
“We’ll both leave the past behind us and start a new chapter, okay? Let me repeat something that you told me months ago: you deserve all the things, you _can_ have it all.” 

Kara just shook her head, as if she had surrendered to the idea that she was always going to sacrifice one thing to get another and she would’ve never been truly contented and satisfied with her life.

“Yes. I promise you.”

“No! I don’t want anyone to promise me anything anymore! I don’t believe in that word anymore, it’s an illusion.”

  
Alex had already seen the colder Kryptonian side of her sister, but this was something else: Kara was deluded and angry, not even at Mon-El, but at herself and her life. Truth was that when she put on her blue suit, she did it almost mindlessly without even realizing all the consequences that it implied: all the hurt that was going to ruin her life and her loved ones’ too. Kara feared that there was no going back and that she’d always end up in pain, in one way or another.

“Alex…”

“Yes.”

“I want to be happy, without worrying about how long it’s going to last.”

“You can’t snap your fingers and be happy and feel fulfilled all at once, it’s a long process, but you heal in the meantime, look at me, for example, I haven’t found my perfect match _and_ I’m not a mother yet, my life is far from perfect. But I get up every single day and I fight to be better than the day before, that’s all it takes. It’s okay if you don’t want to make a promise, but please, tell me you’ll try to do that. We all want you to feel better and we’ll all help you.”

Kara was going to try her hardest to be her best self everyday and she was going to do it out of spite of all the odds that had been laughing at her in disgrace for decades now. “I’m going to try.”

“Perfect. Now no more talking, or crying, only hugging.”  
  
They sat there quietly watching a random movie on tv until Kara spoke again: “Do you think you can get me that guy’s number again?”

“Uh-uh. No, I see what you're wanting to do, and that is not how it works.”

“What?”

“You don’t just call up a guy for a date when you’re not ready.”

“I thought it was ‘Single and _ready_ to mingle’ not ‘Single but I’m gonna eat another Pringle until I’m ready to mingle'.”

“Even you know that it’s too soon, work on yourself first: you can’t ask me for that lawyer’s number while your face is still red with tears you cried for another man.”

“I.. I know, I just think I’ll never be ready to move on unless I literally throw myself in the dating field.”

“You’ll know when it’s time.”

Kara huffed, she felt helpless but she also knew that certain things took time to heal from and this definitely was one of them.

“Christmas is coming up and I haven’t thought about a single present, what about you?” 

Alex cringed, she had always hated going shopping. “Nope.”

“Do you wanna go to the mall with me tomorrow?” 

“Okay, but at one condition.”

“Which is?” 

“Tomorrow is also karaoke night at the bar, what do you say: the return of drunk Kara Danvers?”

“I know I’m going to regret this, but I’m in.”

“It’s gonna be fun!”

“Yeah, yeah, for you maybe.”

* * *

It had been a week since that night, and Kara was back into her normal routine, her mood had gotten slightly better: so she stopped wearing the Legion Ring as a necklace, but kept it on her nightstand next to the crystal anyway, sighing at it every night before going to sleep. 

That evening, as Kara typed words into her laptop whilst sitting on the couch, she saw a blinking light and she had no doubts: Mon-El was sending her a sign. 

She panicked, unsure of what to do: if she was supposed to send a signal back, if she was supposed to wait for him to call any moment now or maybe it was an accident, maybe he was using his Legion ring for other purposes but mistakenly pressed the comet, maybe she didn’t have to do anything but just ignore Mon-El, even if every fibre of herself was begging not to.

“Alex, can you come over, please?”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah… I just don’t know how to handle something.” 

Her brow crinkled.

“I’m on my way.”

“He called me.” 

Kara stated as soon as Alex opened the door.

“Who? The cute lawyer?”

“What? No! Mon-El!”

“How? What did he say?”

“Alex, he didn’t leave a voicemail: he just sent me a signal with the Legion ring ten minutes ago. And I have no idea what I have to do.”

“Well, that’s bold.”

“What do you mean?”

“That first he leaves you out of nowhere, telling you he’s never gonna call again and then he does? Just a week later? Pfft.”

“So, you think I should ignore him?”

“Of course, it’s basically his equivalent of a 3 AM text to an ex.”

“I don’t know, Alex…”

“Don’t overthink it, it was just a moment of weakness, probably.”

“Can you sleepover tonight? It's just put me in a strange mood again.”

“Of course... but first, we’re putting these away.” 

She grabbed the ring and the crystal and put them in a box. 

“I’m taking them to the DEO tomorrow.”

“Fine.” Kara sighed crossing her arms. 

However in the middle of the night, once she had made sure that Alex was sleeping deeply, Kara took the Legion ring from the box: she was not going to use it, but it felt like a personal object with sentimental meaning, that simply didn’t belong in a government-lead organization.  _Luckily_ , Alex didn’t check the box the next morning.

On the other side of the timeline, Mon-El sat down, anxiously staring at the ring on his finger: he had hoped for Kara to respond or at least be near the crystal when he'd called her, but none of that had happened. 

But after all, how could he blame her for it? He was the one who ended things between them, but he had no idea that an emergency was right around the corner when he'd said those things. 


	8. Not Argo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's song is Breathe Again by Sleeping at Last! Enjoyy😘

He woke up with a familiar warmth surrounding him, yet different from the yellow sun he had gotten used to.

It wasn’t the Legion ship, it wasn’t his room, but it definitely was... “Kara.”

Her silhouette turned around to face him, her messy hair still all over her pillow, “Good morning.” 

She gave him a tender kiss, before running her hand between his hair. 

That wasn’t right, that wasn’t real. Mon-El looked down at his body, his hands; he wasn’t wearing a uniform, he was wearing Kryptonian clothes and most importantly, his Legion ring was now replaced by a wedding band. 

The only thing that hadn’t changed was his necklace. “Are you okay?” Kara noticed his sharp movements and the way his body stiffened when she touched him.

“I have to go.. No.”

“Mon-El? I’m not sure that is the appropriate attire to wear for work.”

“Work?”

“Law enforcement officer? Wearing pyjamas?”  
_  
Since when?_

He looked around and had no doubt: they were on Argo City and this was supposedly “their” house since it looked nothing like Alura’s.

“Yeah... I’m sorry, where did you put them again?

“Always in the armoire, Mon. Are you sure you’re okay? You’re worrying me.”

He decided to play along for a little while, “Yeah, absolutely.” 

He gave her a quick peck before opening the armoire: Mon-El figured the uniform was the one similar to the one he had seen on Thara.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Uh- anything you want.”

“Well, at the moment I wish I had tons of chocolate, but alas, I don’t think there’s any here... Let me check what we have.” 

Kara finally stood up from their bed, Mon-El’s eyes nearly popped out from his head when he noticed the very unmistakable shape of a baby bump on her.

“What?”

“Nothi- nothing, it’s just bigger than I remember.” 

He faked a smile, although he felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore.

“I feel the same way every morning.”

Mon-El tried to stay calm as they had breakfast peacefully, way too peacefully for his liking—not that he didn’t like the situation, he loved it, but it still made him uncomfortable. As soon as he left their house, he let his feet and instincts guide him to wherever he was supposed to be: he stopped as soon as he recognized a familiar face.  
  
“Good morning, Mon-El!”

“Thara! Hi, good... morning.”

“Do you want to hear what mess Lir-Al made yesterday?”

“What happened?”

“So I gave him your recipe. He bought everything we needed, he cooked it and then as soon as he tasted it, he realized he didn’t buy the pepper! The most important ingredient of the stew!”

Mon-El laughed with her for a minute, forgetting his uneasiness: his intrusive thoughts telling him that this was definitely a life he could get used to.

“He’s going to try to make it again tonight, pepper included, although he’s already given up on it turning out as good as yours and the kids agreed. By the way, Yari keeps asking me about when Kara is going to give birth: she just turned ten years old and constantly states that she’s old enough to babysit your baby and she complains whenever I reply ‘soon’.”

“She’s very sweet.”

“Yari loves you two so much: before you guys moved here from Earth, not having an aunt or an uncle really affected her, she wanted a real extended family, now we’re so grateful that you’re here. Even Malu loves you, he’s just a little bit shy.”  
  
For some reason, Mon-El now had their faces within his mind, despite never meeting them.“We’re glad you’re here too.”

His memories were getting confused, new names and people he had never seen who apparently were his friends and colleagues, yet the people he had met on Earth were still in his thoughts too: Alex, James, Winn, Eliza.  


“Are you coming to the banquet tomorrow night?”

“I..”

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about it, Kara has been obsessing over what she’s supposed to wear for weeks now.”

“No, no. I was just thinking about that. Yes, of course, I’m going to be with Kara.”

“Good, she seemed nervous talking about it the other day, it being the first official Kryptonian event she’s attended since the age of thirteen.”

“I won’t let her be nervous, I promise.”

“You’re a good man, I’m so glad you two angels found each other.”

Her words made him smile genuinely until he perceived a mild discomfort that started off like some kind of stomach ache but was now rising to his chest: Mon-El exhaled and inhaled slowly a couple of times. His friend noticed and raised her eyebrow: 

“Thara, I.. I’m not feeling well, do you think I can go home for the day?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I just feel.. suffocated. It might be just a panic attack, I need to go home and get some rest.”

“Okay, let me know when you feel better, I’ll warn the other units.”

“Thank you.”

Despite panting heavily, he started running home, not caring of who and what was in his way, he just needed to be somewhere safe. As soon as he arrived at the doorstep, Kara wasn’t home alone: “Winn? What are you doing here?”

“Kara wanted me to bring some chocolate from Earth, and it would’ve been rude to turn down a pregnant woman’s request. What are you doing here?” 

He played with his keychain, that was actually J’onn’s. 

“I wasn’t feeling well.”

“Babe, is everything alright?”

Kara put her hands on his cheeks, checking out his face to see any sign of possible illnesses.

“I just need to rest, I need to sleep.”

“Are you sure you don’t wanna stay with us?”

Suddenly he didn’t feel any pain anymore, as if Kara’s words were the cue for it to stop, “I can stay a little longer.”

Both Kara and Winn smiled, she caressed Mon-El’s face and left a kiss.

  
Winn started talking about the DEO, National City in general and how Alex had been doing: she had a son now _apparently_ and his face was one of the new ones to materialize in Mon-El’s mind, like puzzle pieces coming together to form the reality he was craving so much. Kara seemed so happy and radiant and, for a moment, he got lost looking at her smiling brightly.

“I understand that she doesn’t want to travel from planet to planet with a 2-year-old baby, but I miss my sister so much: I can’t wait for this little ray of sunshine to be born so I can introduce him or her to all of you in National City.”

“Ray of sunshine? Is that a new nickname? We can’t wait to meet them either.” Winn chuckled.

“Well, yeah. Mon-El came up with it a few days ago and I’ve been calling the baby that ever since.” 

Kara cradled her baby bump and then gazed back at Mon-El with the most loving eyes; he gestured for her to come sit on his lap, so he could put his hands on her stomach too. Mon-El felt the life growing inside of his wife for the first time and his emotions overwhelmed him: he started crying but tried to dry his tears as quickly as possible, “I love you.” 

He kissed her shoulder.

“Not as much as I love you.”

“You two are always a joy to watch, but sadly I think it’s time for me to return home.”  
  
Winn stood up, Kara did the same to say goodbye, but Mon-El felt the need to gasp for air once more: his expression changed, he seemed paler and they noticed. “Mon-El?”

He couldn’t talk, he opened his mouth but no words came out of it.

His eyes went wide before watering again, Kara’s soft voice was calling him as he closed his eyes but nothing changed. “Mon-El, what is happening? You’re scaring me.” 

She was trembling now, he'd realized it while she'd held his hands. “I’m gonna tell J’onn and Alex to rush here immediately.” 

Winn left the house to look for help, Kara could only nod, terrified just as he was: Mon-El finally managed to utter a few, stuttered words: “You aren’t… real.” 

“What are you talking about? I’m here, I’m with you, Mon-El, can’t you see?”

“None of this is real.”

“It is.”

“It’s my dream.”

“It’s your reality.” 

Kara’s voice was sounding more and more pleading.

“I wish it—I wish it was.”

“Come sit here.” 

She wouldn’t let go of his hands; so Mon-El sat down and tried to explain what he was feeling as best as he could. “The pain I’m feeling right now, whatever is taking my breath away right now, it is happening outside… in my real life.”

Kara, or his vision of Kara, stopped begging him to listen to her, to convince him that this was real.

“I wish- more than anything- for my reality to be as beautiful as whatever I’m living right now: me and you, Argo City, no more sacrifices, a normal life, a family.” 

Mon-El’s voice broke on the last two words, watching the bump that reminded him of the dream he'd had long that was forgotten since he first left Earth.

“Is there something I can do?” Kara asked, defeated.

He smiled softly, “No. I have to wake up by myself.” 

Another pang of pain crossed his chest, Mon-El dropped on his knees on the floor screaming: his fingers were still tangled with Kara’s, “Don’t give in, don’t give in! You need to wake up!” She implored him.  


But the pain was taking over Mon-El’s entire body now, it reached his hips, made his legs weak, his head was feeling lighter.

“Mon-El, please. You need to wake up now, you’re stronger than this.” 

He didn’t have a voice anymore, he could only listen to the echo of her words.

“You’re the only person that can make this happen! If you want this to become your real life, you need to wake up. Don’t stop fighting, Mon-El. You know you can do this.” 

Kara looked deeply into his eyes, holding his face between her hands. 

_Her eyes... Her comets.  
  
_“I love you,” Mon-El whispered weakly, without any more strength.

“Wake up, please. Please.” 

Her pleas were sounding more muffled until there was nothing but silence: he remembered to not give up, to force himself to wake up from whatever dreamlike-prison he was staying in, to open his eyes before the darkness could take over. 

So he did.

The blinding whiteness of the interiors of the Legion ship was the first thing he recognized, and then, his best friend sitting by his bedside.

“Winn.”

“Mon-El! You’re awake!” 

His smile reached his eyes, he started crying with joy. “I’ve never been happier to hear you say my name!”

Mon-El slowly turned his head to see that a couple of other Legionnaires had surrounded him and were excited to see him awake.  “I’m so relieved you’re okay.” 

Imra was on the other side of the room, Garth sitting next to her.

“The other Legionnaires, where are they? Brainiac?” Piece by piece he recollected the events that preceded his unconsciousness.

“Brainiac is gone. We won! They’re fine, we all are. Do you want me to call everyone?”

“No.. not right now… did we really defeat him?”

“Teamwork does make the dream work, especially when it’s lead by a brilliant superhero and supported by another brilliant human.” 

Winn made Mon-El smile but when he tried to move, he still felt pain, “Hey, watch out buddy, you need to heal and rest. You’re lucky to be alive.”

“How much time have I been unconscious?”

“You were in a coma for a week.”

Those words reminded him of the vision he had during his coma: “Can you please leave me and Winn alone?” 

Mon-El gently asked his other friends.

“Sure.” Garth nodded, Imra following him outside.  
  
Winn looked puzzled, Mon-El started explaining: “While I was unconscious, I was stuck in a dream, my dream life. I was told that if I wanted to achieve that, I had to fight to stay alive and wake up; now, I don’t expect you and even more, the rest of the Legion, to understand why I’m saying this but... I need to leave this place.” 

He paused to let Winn respond but it seemed like he had nothing to say, he just nodded at his words. 

“I was on Argo City, I worked in what I guess you would call the police department with Kara’s childhood best friend, I was… married to Kara and we were expecting a baby. You were there too, you flew there with J’onn’s spaceship to bring her some chocolate.” 

Mon-El chuckled lightly, Winn gasped “Me, driving J’onn’s spaceship? Are you sure that wasn’t _my_ dream life?” 

“My point is... I was happy, I had a job that let me help people, perhaps on a smaller scale. But I truly had everything I wanted and I want that to become my reality too; life is too short, even for aliens like me that live approximately a few centuries. As much as having you by my side has helped make this century even better, I don’t think I can stay here—especially now that we’ve defeated Brainiac- I don’t... I don’t want to come back here. I want to be courageous, to help and inspire people, I want to be a positive role model, but with Kara by my side. I don’t want to give one up to have the other. You’ve been here for six months, but when those change into years, you start to change too. If you have any regrets or weight that you carry from your past, those changes they won’t be positive, no matter how good the people you surround yourself with are.”

“I get it, I really do. I have noticed how you changed again when you stopped talking to Kara and as much as I love that super-focused superhero dude, I also don’t like him. I like him when he’s happier, and clearly this is the opposite of his happy place.”

“Now… how am I gonna tell this to the rest of the Legion?”

“Just do. Your health is what matters the most, I don’t just mean the physical. They’ll understand eventually.”

“What if I go back and Kara.. hates me?”

“She could never hate you.”

“I’m not sure about that.”

“Trust me, I know her: she’s physically unable to hate anyone, even if they did her wrong.”  
  
Mon-El stayed quiet, hoping that her love for him hadn’t faded away after he’d been so cold to her. However, after everything, he did have hope, that he would find Kara again.


	9. Leaving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's song is Sign of The Times by Harry Styles! I hope you enjoy this 💗

A day after Mon-El had woken up, he called all the Legionnaires in for an important meeting: he was hoping nobody would hate him for what he was about to declare. 

Standing up in front of all the heroes on his nth metal crutches, Mon-El thanked everyone for being there and started praising every team member, because their victory wouldn’t have been possible without each and every one of them. 

“But I didn’t call you all here just to applaud you all,” he looked nervously at Winn who simply nodded reassuringly, “I have an announcement to make: since we have defeated our biggest threat yet, I’ve decided to step down from the Legion of Superheroes and my role as its leader.”

Loud gasps were heard around the entire room, Mon-El gulped and continued: “And before you ask why, here’s the reason: I have given everything I have to give to this incredible group of superheroes and you have made me prouder than I ever could’ve imagined, I have learned more from you all than you have from me, so don’t think that this was a choice I made lightly, this is something I was giving a lot of thought too even before the final battle with Brainiac had commenced. 

Saving the world is gratifying, the joy of saving people of all kinds and seeing thankfulness in their eyes, it gives a feeling that I can’t even describe. However, at the end of the day when you’re alone in bed, you start thinking about all that you’ve given up for everyone’s happiness, y ou can’t help but wonder: “am _I_ truly happy? Or just satisfied?” 

The only way I can describe what I’m feeling is with a metaphor most of you probably won’t understand because you’ve never been to a restaurant: it’s like I just ate something delicious, I would want more, but I can’t ask for it because the waiter has already taken my plate and is about to bring me another dish; I can’t be mad, because I’m still gonna be served food and that is going to satiate my appetite, but that second meal isn’t what I wanted. And no matter how many times I’ll try to recreate the first, it’s never going to taste like that one perfect food I had.”

  
“You’re leaving us for food?” Rokk raised his hand, confused.

Imra covered her face with her hand, “It’s a metaphor, Cosmic Boy.”

“I’m not leaving you for food,” Mon-El chuckled “I’m going to my happy place, where the love of my life is. I’m going back to the 21 st century.”

“I don’t understand this, Mon-El. Isn’t the world what matters the most? Do you think it’s fair to leave just because of someone you dated years ago?” Rokk kept asking, he simply couldn’t see things from Mon-El’s point of view.  


“I don’t expect you to understand this decision, but it’s what's better for me: yes, after eight years dedicated to being a hero I've selfishly chosen myself and my happiness above everything else. That doesn’t mean I will stop being a hero, I’m just going to be one in another century, and if I die there… I’ll be happy with my choice because I’ll have the one person that matters the most next to me, the woman that made me who I am today.”

Mon-El noticed a general disappointment spreading in most faces, Imra interjected raising her voice: “For what it’s worth, I have seen the place and the people Mon-El is talking about, they changed him for the better, I have seen him happier and lighter, he was someone I didn’t recognize at all: that was the real Mon-El. We all know that this century hasn’t been easy on him, constantly forcing him to make choices he didn’t want, including our own marriage that affected his mental health greatly. He didn’t even have time to grieve everything he had lost because he had to keep putting a brave face on, for us and for the people that needed to be saved. Letting him go, is the least thing we can do, if we truly love him as a friend, as a leader, as the man who created this Legion and made us find each other.” 

She ended her speech, looking sweetly at Garth and smiling back at him.

“I’m biased but I totally agree with Imra.” Winn clumsily inserted himself into the discussion.

“Thank you. Both of you.” Mon-El was deeply touched by Imra’s unexpected addition. “Winn. Are you coming with me as well?” 

He wanted to be sure that his friend did want to go home too.

“I- I think so. But you need to heal first and I have to finish my suit.. do you think that J’onn is going to let me wear my suit at the DEO?”

“As long as you’re on the battlefield with us, too.”

The old Winn would’ve run away like a coward at that offer, but now he had a much stronger mind, “I can do that, yes.”

“Sorry to interrupt your talk, but I think I’ll ask this for everyone: if you’re leaving, who is going to be our leader?” Garth seemed puzzled.

“Oh, that’s easy. Imra.”

“What?!” Her voice got squeakier, “Me? I’m not ready for that.”

“Trust me, you are and if it makes you feel better, neither was I when I got thrown into this century, but you’re going to be great.”

“Thank you so much, for your trust. I hope I won’t let you down.”  


A week later, Mon-El and Winn said their goodbyes to every Legionnaire and were ready to go home.

* * *

“After three dates over four days, I can officially say dating sucks! I hate it!” Kara yelled as soon as she walked into Alex’s loft, “Three dates in four days? Wow.”

“I’m very impatient and I wanted to see if I could get myself a date for New Year’s Eve, so I set the dates between Boxing day and today. By the way, I went on two dates with Lawyer and another one with the new barista from Noonan’s, not four different guys.”

“And?”

“The first date with the Lawyer was good, we just talked about what we liked, pet peeves, a little bit about our careers and families. He’s an only child and his family is very wealthy. It was a good date so we decided to see each other again the next day: and that’s when I got _so disappointed_.” She put emphasis on the last two words.

“Okay, but can we call him by his real name?”

“Okay, Greg started turning every discussion into a political debate, listing pros and cons, “but is that good?" “does it give a good message?” we were talking about Disney characters, Alex!  Disney characters! So I changed the subject, asked him what he liked to do in his free time, what are his friends like, he said that he wouldn’t call them his friends exactly, because it’s just people that happened to go to Law school with him and he keeps them around just to have some company on those rare times he goes to bars or parties. 

_"I prefer having a nice woman like you by my side than men."_ Kara mocked him, cringing. 

“A man that doesn’t like having friends around? that gives off so many red flags. As soon as I finished my meal, I pretended to remember I had a deadline for an article that night and literally flew away.”

Alex mirrored Kara’s disgusted expression, “And what about the other guy, when did you two meet?”

“Yesterday afternoon, we met for a lunch date today. He noticed me and I obviously noticed that he was an unfamiliar face, as I was about to leave, he gave me his number, his name was Ryan. He was a curly-haired, darker-skinned Harry Potter type: so I texted him and ignored the fact that he was a very slow replier and then met him today. Ryan is totally adorable, and clumsy as me, very kind but Rao, the shyest person I have ever met: I had to pull words out of his mouth, he couldn’t carry a single conversation and I couldn’t wait to leave. No more dates until further notice, I’m tired.”

“Welcome to the single life.”

Kara huffed, wanting to say something but stopping herself before words could come out. 

“What?” Alex realized it.

“Nothing.”

“Everyone will have bad dating experiences in their lives, don’t beat yourself up.”

“No.. it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“You know that it’s different for me… because I’m not human.”

“You don’t have to think about that right now.”

“But I do! Because even if I found someone, at some point I would have to tell them the truth about who I really am and that could ruin everything.”

“What if they stay even if you tell them you’re an alien?”

“Then they would have to deal with the fact that I’m also a superhero. That would put them in an even more uncomfortable position, not to mention dangerous. Who would stay? Who would understand who I am? Who would understand my sacrifices? Don’t tell me I don’t have to think about these things, Alex.”

She seemed to understand her point, and why she felt more than just simple frustration: Kara was right to question how much it would take for her to find someone who could be by her side no matter what and let her be herself, always.

“Whatever. We have our New Year’s Eve party to plan: James texted me that his sister Kelly’s flight got cancelled so she’s leaving after New Year’s day, can she join?” Kara asked the party host.

“Yeah, sure!” Alex nodded, “We need to buy more booze, though.”

“Alex.” 

“We’ll get some for you and Brainy too!”

“Alex. No.”

“If people won’t get drunk tonight, then when will they? It’s the drunkest festivity, followed by Halloween.”

She sighed, “What else do we have to buy?”

* * *

The food and drinks were ready for the party, and so were the two sisters: Alex wore a sleeveless black top inside of high-waisted dark green pants, with her hair straightened, whilst Kara had a sparkly brown dress with a hint of padding on her shoulders and her hair up in a chic bun. 

Their friends started arriving one by one, actually, two by two: James and Lena, Brainy and Nia, a couple of DEO agents.. Kelly joined them a few minutes later, she was so scared she wasn’t going to find the right building and miss it completely. 

Kara wasn’t exactly sure about what was happening between Nia and Brainy, but Nia definitely laughed louder than usual and that was a clear sign of a crush. 

“So, you’re seeing that too, huh?” Alex asked Kara over the loud music.

“Of course, and the DEO people haven’t even started drinking yet, you know they get particularly flirty when they’re drunk.” 

For that reason, J’onn had decided there were to be no Christmas parties at their place of work anymore. “By midnight, everyone’s gonna be making out but me.”

“Hey, I’m in this too!” Alex tried to protest.

“Uh-uh, I’ve seen the way you’ve been checking Kelly out since you opened the door for her, you’re the most obvious person I know.”

“Pfft, what the hell are you talking about?!”

“For the record, she’s been checking you out too,” Kara added casually.

“Wait, was she?” 

“Yes, I think James noticed it, too.” 

Alex’s cheeks started to turn red. “I’m gonna need more alcohol for this.” 

She ran away, but Kara immediately saw that Kelly had followed her, so she didn’t even bother to try and stop her sister.

She walked towards her safe space at every party: _the kitchen table_ and tried to not eat everything and to leave something for the other guests. 

But the food was the only distraction from the sadness that she was currently feeling; she was going to start another year alone and she knew the year after that would likely start the same way too. 

Kara had approached James and Lena and tried not to feel like a third-wheel during their whole conversation, but it was just full of inside jokes and references she didn’t understand, so consequently, she asked everyone to gather around to take some pictures because _her outfit shouldn’t have to go forgotten._  
  
However, as time passed and it got closer to midnight, people got drunker and louder, and Kara couldn’t shake her discomfort away: despite her tipsiness, Alex’s _big sister senses_ noticed that something was off, but whenever she asked Kara if she was doing okay, she just reassured her that she was and that she had nothing to worry about. 

“I’m going to take some air out on the balcony,” the blonde one added, making her way out of the crowded room. 

Just as Kara was finally relaxing and letting go of her thoughts, the guests started chanting the final countdown of the year: a loud roar of voices came mixed with well-wishes for 2019; she looked out at the cityscape and smiled, for a moment Kara forgot about everything that weighed her down and reminded herself that a new chapter was about to begin, and she wouldn’t let this one be sad.

Fireworks started going off and Kara was caught off guard, the deafening booms provoked an unexpected negative reaction. Her breath almost got stuck in her throat: it wasn’t the first time she'd seen and heard fireworks, but the continuous explosion of colour suddenly made her want to cry. 

Kara always had the best hearing on the planet, but soon she figured that since she’d been training blindfolded with Brainy and Alex after the Vexoculus fight, it got even more sensitive to sound. 

She inhaled and exhaled, and then tried to cover her ears, but it wasn’t enough: she had to fly away from everything to calm down.  
  
By the time she took flight, tears were streaming down her face and they wouldn’t stop: Kara headed home where she found some peace in the comfort of her bed, she let her hair down and stripped from her pretty dress.

The fireworks had finally ceased, but Kara still felt like there was an alarm constantly ringing inside of her head, like she had to keep her guard up for a potential danger that just wasn’t there. She closed her eyes and let her mind go to the happiest place, the safe haven she saw in her dreams when she felt at her lowest: that peaceful field under the shining sun that she loved to cross with her mom and Mon-El.

Even if her heart had just been broken by him, Mon-El would always be part of Kara’s happy place.

_“How I wish you were still here,” s_ he whispered to herself, almost imperceptibly. 

Kara let herself sink into that beautiful illusion to block out the outside world and while doing so, she fell asleep forgetting her brokenness and the tumultuous events of the past year.


	10. Into Your Arms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This final's chapter's song is You are the reason by Calum Scott. Here's the complete OCA playlist (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6oUcMfa5tsfD75heI4FLl1?si=ASfdz5SpTziYKNLEpR_EAA) Enjoy this last chapter and I'll see you on Sunday for the epilogue!💗

As soon as she woke up, Kara knew she had to talk to her mother urgently: after a quick shower, she took the crystal and hoped she wasn’t interrupting anything important.

“Hi, mom.”

“Good morning, Kara. Is everything alright?”

“It’s pretty much the same as the last time we talked, but yesterday at Alex’s new year’s eve party, it all dawned on me. I don’t want to start this new year in the same state of last year: would you mind if I came there to Argo City, just for a week?”

“I thought you didn’t want to come here because of…”

“I know. And I didn’t, but even here everything reminds me of him, so I guess I could take this last week of holiday to stay with you.”

“Then that's fine by me, but I would also like to say hi to your Earth family, and wish them a happy new year in person: what if I come to ‘pick you up’ and then we go to Argo together?”

“That sounds perfect to me, do you have anything to do right now?”

“I’ll just go to the market to buy a few things, then I’ll turn on the portal. I’ll see you in a bit.” 

Alura smiled softly at her daughter whom she’d missed greatly, Kara couldn’t wait for this next week of mother-daughter quality time.

When she ended the call, she realized she hadn’t checked her phone once since she had left Alex’s party: when she plugged it in to a charger, as expected, she found over 40 missed calls, 15 texts, some of which were unreadable and another dozen voicemails. 

Kara called Alex immediately, who started shouting as soon as she picked up: “Where the hell did you go, Kara? Do you have any idea of how worried I was? Why did you leave without saying anything? You said you were fine! If I hadn’t been too drunk to drive I would’ve come to your house in a second.”

“Alex! I’m okay. I left so abruptly because I had a panic attack during the fireworks, you were with Kelly and James was with Lena you get the idea. I didn’t really have a choice but to leave so I could feel better.”

“Oh my God, Kara, I’m so sorry I attacked you right away without even letting you explain, I’m such a terrible sister, I’m so sorry. Are you sure you’re doing better now?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kara chuckled, “I just talked to my mom she’s coming today to wish you all a happy new year, then I’ll just take a little trip to Argo City and come back at the end of the week.”

“Oh, that’s good! I’m glad you’re taking a vacation, you deserve to have a break.”

“Thank you for understanding: you’re coming with me next time, okay? No buts.”

“Okay, I hope I don’t look extremely awkward among the other Kryptonians.”

“I can assure you that you won’t. Is it normal to feel guilty for taking a break?”

“How many times do I have to tell you it’s okay to take a vacation from time to time? You’re going to lose your mind if you don’t find time for yourself.”

“You’re right, I guess I’m too used to having all the work dropped on me.”

“You’re not alone, you will always have me.”

Kara smiled, “Always.”

* * *

The glow of the portal appeared in the middle of what _used to be_ Alura’s hologram room: the woman was warmly greeted by her daughter with a long hug.

“I missed you.” Kara nuzzled her head on her shoulder.

“I missed you, too. I brought gifts for J’onn, Alex and Eliza. Are they still here?”

“That’s so sweet, yes! They’re still here.” 

Alura took Kara’s hand as they walked toward the Kryptonian's Earth family. 

“Happy New year to all of you! I brought some gifts to show my gratitude, although I know these are characteristics of two other Earth festivities.”

Eliza stepped forward, it was the first time she was meeting her daughter’s biological mother. 

“I’m so glad I’m finally getting to meet you in person: I’ve heard such wonderful things about you.” She continued, with a hint of awe in her voice.

“So did I: I couldn’t be more thankful for my daughter to have found such an incredible mother figure here. Thank you for protecting her and loving her for all these years.” 

Alura had tears in her eyes when Eliza hugged her instinctively, Alex and J’onn were moved too: in the meantime, Kara was bawling her eyes out as quietly as possible. “I brought a bracelet for each one of you, I had the word meaning “Member of the Family” with the House of El glyph engraved on them, _zhrythrevium_ , I hope you like them.“

Alex was visibly stunned, “This... this means so much to me. Thank you so much, Alura.”

“Being by your daughter’s side for the past few years has been an honour, thank you.”

“I hope I don’t ruin this very touching moment, saying that I feel it’s time for a group hug?”

Kara spoke through her sniffles, looking at her beautiful extended family. They all laughed and embraced her tenderly: she was truly lucky to have such a supportive family.  


Brainy marched inside of the room: “There’s been unusual activity detected: it seems like someone has tried to open a portal to get exactly to our coordinates. Director, how do we proceed?” 

“Wait, that could be Barry.” Kara talked before Alex even had a chance to: “Kara is right, we can’t know if there are hostile motives behind that. Just keep an eye on it and keep us updated.”

“I guess I’ll stay here until everything is cleared up.” Kara sighed feeling resigned, she never was going to have time for herself, was she? 

“I’m so sorry, mom. It’s probably gonna be a matter of a couple of hours, is that fine with you?”

“Of course. By the way, it’s very thrilling to see what your daily job looks like up close.” Alura smirked, “I’ll just find myself something to do.”

“We can go somewhere nice and talk, I feel like we have many things to catch up on.” Eliza figured that it was better to leave her daughters to whatever they had to do.

“That sounds perfect.” Eliza and Alura started chatting and walked away, Kara nearly pinched herself because it was a very unusual sight.

“They’ve officially entered our atmosphere. In a few minutes, I should be able to recognize the type of spaceship utilized.”

“A spaceship? That can’t be Barry. Oh no, what if it’s another magical imp-like Music Meister or Mxy?”

“They have a cloaking device, they’re not on the radar anymore. But, I’m fairly certain we’re about to see them any minute now.”

A team of agents was assembling in front of the main entrance, when suddenly...  


“Winn? Is that you?”

“Agents, stand down! Winn?”

“In a suit?”

The Danvers sisters couldn’t believe their eyes, their best friend just materialized in front of them out of thin air, in a blue suit with golden details.

“Phew, I got the right coordinates. Hi!” He started walking down the stairs, the girls rushed to hug him as tightly as possible—without suffocating him—Kara thought.

“What are you doing here?”

“What do you think I’m doing here? I’m home!” His smile grew wider at every word, but Kara still looked rather perplexed.

“The Legion? The enemy you had to fight?”

“We managed to win. It definitely wasn’t easy, it was terrifying, especially for someone like me who always kept danger at arm’s length. But, luckily everyone is okay.”

“Mon-El, too?” Kara’s words slipped out of her mouth so quickly she couldn’t even try to stop them .

“He was the one who had most injuries out of us all, because he fought with every bit of his strength. But he’s doing better now.”

“And where is he? Did he stay... there?” Alex seemed to read Kara’s worried expression and anticipated her question.

“He’s—“

“Hi.” Everyone turned around to face his voice.

“--Right there.”

If seeing Winn felt like a vision, seeing Mon-El at the top of the DEO staircase felt like a mirage. 

Kara’s eyes started tearing up and the whole world around them suddenly seemed to move in slow motion: the emotion in Mon-El’s eyes was crystal clear, although he seemed terrified to move in her direction since he still had no idea of the reason for the tears in Kara's eyes. Was she still heartbroken? Angry at him? 

They were too shaken to even utter a word.

Every question went away with the bat of an eye when he suddenly felt her crashing into him in the most desperate embrace that had Mon-El nearly stumbling backwards: he had imagined and dreamed of this moment so many times. However, nothing could compare to the reality of her soft hair brushing his skin, her sweet smell, or the feeling of her hand making its way through his hair as she softly caressed his head in disbelief, making sure it wasn’t another one of their oddly realistic dreams. 

It was real. Everything was real.

When they pulled away from their hug, Kara and Mon-El stared deeply into each other’s eyes: “you’re here,” she said at last.

“I made a promise, didn’t I?” His dimples showed up with a genuine, happy smile.  
  
“Mon-El! Winn!” Brainy’s voice startled everyone, including Alex and Winn who were admiring the touching reunion.

“Brainy! I’ll be happy to answer any of your questions in the med bay!” 

Winn jogged to his Coluan friend to save the situation from turning too awkward, “Yeah, I’m curious, too!”

Alex quickly followed the two men to leave Kara and Mon-El alone.  
  
“Uhm... maybe... we should go somewhere else... I-“

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right.”

“The hologram room?”

“Your place?” They both blurted out at the same time. 

Mon-El started scratching his chin nervously, while looking down, “let’s go to my place.” Kara nodded, before taking flight. They stole a few glances while speeding through the sky, without saying a word: Mon-El entered the loft and started looking at all the Christmas decorations and the tree standing behind the couch covered in glittering tinsel, Kara changed herself into more casual clothes “I haven’t had the time to take these off, I was going to once I came back.”

She sat down on the couch, “Came back from where?” He sat down too, but not as close as he wanted to.

“Argo City: I was going to spend my last week of holiday with my mom. If you had arrived an hour later, you wouldn’t have found me.”

“Oh… I’m sorry, I ruined your plans.” Mon-El’s voice was lower as if he felt embarrassed. “No, no, you have nothing to apologize for. I thought we had agreed on no more apologies.”

Kara smiled at him and suddenly he wasn’t feeling tense anymore. “How are you? Winn said you endured a lot in the fight, Do you feel better?”

“Yeah, I feel great, but it’s nothing new, you know better than anyone else how good I am at dodging death.”

“Mon-El.”

“Okay, too dark.”  He chuckled and Kara rolled her eyes playfully, “I have a couple of bruises here and there, but they should be gone in a few days.”  


“Good. So, are you… are you staying for good?”

Kara was trying to not let her excitement show too much on her face, “Yes. I’m going to need to buy some new clothes though, I don’t have any here.”

“I still have your stuff!” Kara responded so quickly and her forehead crinkled in embarrassment, “I mean... your clothes... if they still fit you,  I can give them back to you.”

One part of Mon-El was amused at her adorable facial expressions, another part was moved and surprised by the fact she still had his things. “You didn’t throw them away?”

“Of course not, why would I?” _Why did that sound so awkward out loud?_

_  
_ Mon-El chuckled, “The last time we talked... we didn’t end our conversation in the best of terms.”

“Did you think I was gonna use that against you? You might say I’m an expert at making hard decisions to protect the people I love, and you just did what had to be done to protect me. Even if it hurt.”

Mon-El exhaled as if a giant weight had just been lifted off his shoulders: “I’m glad you could understand. Only Rao knows how hard it was for me to call you that night: I made you talk to Winn because I needed more time.”

Kara scooted closer to him and took his hands in hers: “Let’s not indulge in the past, okay?” 

While staring at her, Mon-El noticed something different: “Speaking of my things, d-do you still have the Legion ring?” 

_She didn’t wear it as a necklace anymore_.

“Yes, of course, it’s in my drawer. Do you need it back?”

He smiled at her, “No, it’s yours.”

“Quick question: if you are here now, who’s leading the Legion now?” 

“Imra.”

“You know what, I can see that. It suits her.”  Kara nodded smiling, before Mon-El wondered, “Tell me, what did I miss around here?”

“Nothing has really changed, not much at least: I tried to go out more often but it backfired, especially yesterday... the whole week, actually.”

“Why did you have to go out more often?”

“To distract myself. Wait-“

“Oh.” Mon-El felt tense again and moved his hands away from hers, Kara damned herself for not thinking before speaking.  
  
With a sigh, she started explaining: “I-, I can’t even lie… You knew I was hurt, just as I knew you were hurt. That’s why I tried to change my habits and go on as many dates as possible, so I could feel less alone. But like I said, this stupid attempt backfired and lead me nowhere, except for the realization that-”

Kara took his hands again and made sure Mon-El was looking in her eyes and realized that she meant every word, “-no one makes me feel the way that you do, Mon-El. No one ever will. You have taken over my heart completely and even if I tried to get away from you, gravity will always push me into your arms.”

He moved a strand of hair behind her ear, his hand resting on her cheek. “You mean everything to me: you’ve made my life better, you’ve believed in me when I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror, you’ve taught me what love is and you are the only reason I’m still alive: you gave me strength when I was ready to give up. You made me realize I wanted to spend the rest of my life in my happiest place: you are my happiest place, Kara Zor-El, and I’m gonna love you until my very last breath. But until then, if you let me... I’m going to give you the happily ever after I promised you.”

Kara couldn’t contain her feelings anymore: she pulled Mon-El from the collar of his suit and made their lips finally kiss. _Finally._

He smiled into the kiss, experiencing happiness he had almost forgotten completely, and when they broke apart, they both gasped for air. “I’ve waited a long time to do that.”

“Better late than never.” As Kara began to kiss him again, in a more passionate way, Mon-El picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

* * *

Kara and Mon-El were laying down, hot skin to hot skin, hand in hand, enjoying the most peaceful and happiest moment of their lives when suddenly, a knock on the door made them fall from heaven and back to Earth. They looked at each other with wide eyes, Kara x-rayed the door and saw not only Eliza but also Alura with her. “It’s my moms! Help me fix this bed and get dressed!” she whispered as loudly as possible, rushing out of the bedsheets.

“Kara? Are you here? It’s me and Alura!” 

Eliza kept knocking, “Alex told us everything that happened, J’onn allowed her to throw a party at the DEO for Mon-El and Winn’s return.”

“Uhh, yes! Okay!” Mon-El and Kara kept throwing clothes and blankets at each other, “Fix your hair!” Mon-El whispered to Kara, “You, too!”

“Alex said you have some bags of crisps and sodas we can take to the DEO, so we’re here to take them.”

“Yes, give me a second!” She shouted and then again in a lower voice, “Take that cape away from here!”

“Kara, are you okay?” Alura interjected but laughed at the bizarre situation, she could hear things moving inside of the loft.

“I’m great, I am—go hide somewhere else!” Kara kept alternating voices.

“Is Mon-El there with you?” Alura continued asking.

“No! No, no, why would he be here with me?” Mon-El went inside the bathroom to hide and to put his suit back on.

“Oh, Alex said he left the DEO with you.” Kara finally went to open the door, “Hi! Yeah, he was here but he went to... uh, the bar… yes, to say hi to some old co-workers.”

“That’s really nice, can you tell him about the party? I’m sure he’s gonna be very happy about it.”

“Sure, crisps and soda, right?” Kara ran to open the cupboard, “Take these! I’ll see you both in a minute.”

“See you later!” 

Alura giggled as soon as she was out of the door.

“If only my daughter remembered that I have super hearing too, on this planet.”

“Oh, goodness. Please tell me you haven’t used your x-ray vision too.”

“I had to leave them some privacy.” The two moms laughed walking down the stairs.

“Mon-El! They’re waiting for us at the DEO, they’re throwing a party for you and Winn.” 

Mon-El walked into the kitchen where he found Kara drinking some water.

“Do we have to go?”

“Of course, what, you don’t love parties anymore?” 

She threw her arms around his neck, they swayed slowly with their foreheads resting together.

“I do, but I love you more and I can’t get enough of you."

“Hey, I love you too but, we have a lot of time to spend together from now on. Hopefully, the rest of our lives. Now go get dressed, your clothes are in the armoire.” 

Kara left a sweet little peck on his lips, that had Mon-El wanting more, but she was right.

“Yes, the rest of our lives sounds good to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAND that's it, folks!😁😁
> 
> Thank you to every single one of you who has read, left kudos, comments, excited or frustrated keysmashes and lots of emojis. I hope you had fun reading about how these two found each other again as much as I had fun writing it 💓💓💓
> 
> Special thanks go to Sarah who had to handle me and my annoying ass, and Sabry for being my number one supporter even when I doubted my skills (A lot of times).
> 
> THANK YOU A THOUSAND TIMES, WITH ALL MY LOVE, 
> 
> ELE.


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened next?

A year after his and Winn’s return, Kara and Mon-El got married in the most romantic ceremony ever. 

There weren’t a lot of guests, but it was very intimate and special for both of them: Winn officiated and J’onn walked Kara down the aisle, and eventually had to wipe some of their vows from the human guests’ memories.

A few months later, they found out that they were having a baby and decided to take a sabbatical. 

Kara’s CatCo co-workers believed that she would be travelling to New Zealand with her husband Mike: instead, they went to Argo, got to help Alura with some council decisions and hang out a lot with Thara and her family, just like Mon-El had seen in his dream world. Once Ali— short for Alura – turned one year old, they'd likely be going back home to Earth.

The blue glow of the hologram illuminated the room where Alex, J’onn and Eliza were staying:

“Hi!”

“Hell- look at my beautiful niece! Awww, you are the cutest little ray of sunshine, aren’t you? Aren’t you?”

“Hi to you, too Alex!” Mon-El said sarcastically while holding his baby daughter on his lap.

“That is what a parent’s life is like once they start to have children: nothing else matters anymore, both for you as parents and for your friends and family. Babies are always going to be the stars of the show.” 

Eliza looked at Kara and Mon-El almost apologetically for Alex’s change in behaviour, but no one could really blame her, she was her first niece after all.

“She steals everyone’s hearts.” Her mom added with a sigh, Ali giggled as if she understood that her family were praising her adorableness.  
  
“I can’t believe she’s turning one next week, time really flies.” J’onn’s typical stern exterior couldn’t resist his honorary granddaughter’s big blue eyes. He looked at how Mon-El played with her and tickled her tummy: Ali definitely believed that her dad was the funniest person of the universe.

“And in two weeks we’re coming back and we get to celebrate all together!”

“Ugh, I can’t wait to kiss those chubby cheeks!” Aunty Alex was crazy about her ever since she first laid her eyes on her as she assisted Kara’s labour.

“How are you, guys?”

“We miss you! But other than that, I think we’re doing pretty well, especially this lady right here.” Eliza pointed at Alex on her right.

“Oh... oh! I was so focused on Ali I forgot the reason I called you guys in the first place,” she pulled up her left hand, “I’m engaged! I couldn’t wait two more weeks to tell you!”

Mon-El gasped and Kara put her hands on her mouth to muffle her squeals, “When did this happen? How did Kelly propose? Tell me everything!”

“She proposed to me last night on her building’s rooftop, she decorated it with fairy lights and candles and flowers and then she pulled out this ring, and I started crying so much, I think it took me almost three minutes to officially say yes!”

“Awww, congratulations! I doubt it was more romantic than my proposal, though.”  Mon-El stated raising an eyebrow, Kara slapped his shoulder.

“What? You couldn’t stop crying for three days.” It was a matter of fact.

Mon-El had rented an observatory on a night where a meteor shower was expected to happen, just for the two of them: and just as he was showing Kara one of the brightest falling stars using the telescope, he got down on one knee and pulled out a beautiful diamond ring with small sapphires that surrounded the bright oval in the middle. He later told her that he had been saving money for it ever since he returned to the 21 st C entury: it took Kara by surprise, hence why she could never stop bursting into happy cries for over 72 hours later. 

“You’re obviously going to be the maid of honour. And I am _obviously_ leaving all the wedding planning to you because I’m already stressed just thinking about it. If it’s even half as good as your ceremony, then it’s gonna be amazing.”

“I’m going to need some assistance since there’s a little difference called Ali from when I organized my own wedding: are you in?” Kara looked at Eliza and J’onn.

“Don’t look at me, I have work to do, my job will start and end with walking Alex down the aisle.”

“Okay, fine, just me and Eliza then!” Kara huffed and crossed her arms on her chest.

“Uhm, guys, I think we have to go now: we have to leave Ali with her grandma and then we’re going out on a dinner date for the first time in... a year?” 

Mon-El wondered if they had really gone that long without time for themselves, “Yep, a year.” Kara confirmed through gritted teeth.

“We’ll see you soon! Say hi to Alura from all of us!” Eliza waved her hand at the cute family, Mon-El took Ali’s arm and waved her hand back at them.

“Goodbye!”

No matter how many obstacles life threw at them, Kara and Mon-El would always find a way to leap past them and move forward. The road that lead them here to this peace was far from smooth, they had to fight hard to get to where they wanted to be, but this was how they got to live their happily ever after: as long as they had each other, nothing was ever going to stop them again.

** End. **

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter : @evetessmacher
> 
> Tumblr : Iminyourhandskara
> 
> Thanks for Reading!


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